LACMA Acquires Kim Rugg and Andrew Schoultz Works

Mark Moore Gallery is thrilled to announce that the Los Angeles County Museum of Art recently confirmed its acquisition of both Over the Edge, 2009 by British artist Kim Rugg, and  Up in the Air, 2006-2011 by American artist Andrew Schoultz. Both artists are represented by the gallery, and have been globally exhibited in contemporary art institutions.

With surgical blades and a steady hand, Kim Rugg (b. 1963, Canada) dissects and reassembles newspapers, stamps, comic books, cereal boxes and postage stamps in order to render them conventionally illegible. The front page of the LA Times becomes neatly alphabetized jargon, debunking the illusion of its producers’ authority as much as the message itself. Through her re-appropriation of medium and meaning, she effectively highlights the innately slanted nature of the distribution of information as well as its messengers. Rugg has also created hand-drawn works alongside wallpaper installations, both of which toy with authenticity and falsehood through subtle trompe l’oeil.

Sourcing inspiration from 15th Century German map making and Indian miniature paintings, Andrew Schoultz’s (b. 1975, WI) frenetic imagery depicts an ephemeral history bound to repeat itself. In his mixed-media works, notions of war, spirituality and sociopolitical imperialism are reoccurring themes, which shrewdly parallel an equally repetitive contemporary pursuit of accumulation and power. Intricate line work, painting, metal leaf and collage twist and undulate under Schoultz’s meticulous hand, ranging from intimately sized wall works to staggering murals and installations. While his illustrated world seems one of chaos and frenzy, Schoultz also implies a sense of alluring fantasy and whimsy – a crossroads vaguely familiar to the modern world.

Andrew Schoultz’s upcoming solo show, “Fall Out” will open January 12, 2013, while Kim Rugg’s “New Work” will be on view starting October 12, 2013. We sincerely congratulate both artists on this milestone, and thank LACMA for their incredible ongoing support of the gallery program.