Mark Moore Fine Art Blog

Image: Zemer Peled (Israeli, born 1983), Untitled 1, 2016. Ceramic, 22 x 19 x 19 in. Crocker Art Museum purchase, Becky B. Krisik Fund and Marcy and Mort Friedman Acquisition Fund, 2018.47.

EXHIBITION TITLE: Cool Clay: Recent Acquisitions of Contemporary Ceramics
VENUE: Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA)
DATES: July 21, 2019 — July 19, 2020

From raw textures to meticulous details, to glazes bursting with color, the Crocker Art Museum acquisitions featured in the exhibition “Cool Clay” provide insight into the experimental nature of the medium, and the diversity that will define its future.

While the Crocker collection already includes one of the nation’s premier ceramics collections, this exhibition of approximately 40 works features gifts that strengthen the scope and variation of the Museum’s holdings. Pieces in the exhibition span six decades of studio practice and highlight ground-breaking achievements by 20th-century artists known for pioneering aesthetics and techniques.

Zemer Peled (Israeli, born 1983) uses hand-crafted (often smashed) porcelain shards to capture the fluidity or firmness of nature. “From a distance, the sculptures look soft,” says Peled. “But up close, you realize they’ve got bite.”

These seemingly conflictive perspectives manifest in many of the artists’ presentations. “Crucible Series Jadeite” by Tony Marsh (American, born 1954) is one in a series of works that refer to ceramic containers used to melt substances at high temperatures, as well as the tradition of the ceramic vessel. Yet the “Crucible” works, encrusted with glaze, are neither industrial tools nor functional vessels. The artist challenges these definitions by presenting this “crucible” as a purely sculptural form.

Image: DIRK STASCHKE, Beyond a Shadow, 2017 / Ceramic, Wood, Epoxy / 27 × 22 × 20 in (68.6 × 55.9 × 50.8 cm)

And, in a twist whereby Dirk Staschke (American, born 1971) invites viewers to explore the space between sculpture and painting, the artist acknowledges Dutch “Vanitas” still life themes in his ceramic homage to classic art that challenges its traditional mode of creation.

Other renowned ceramic masters represented include Rudy Autio (American, 1927 – 2007), who was known as the “Matisse of ceramics” and gained international acclaim for his torso-shaped, abstracted vessels; and Jun Kaneko (American, born Japan, 1942), whose elegant, minimal style is represented in a hand-built stoneware platter.

Other artists in the exhibition include:

• Anthony Bennett (British, born 1949)
• Claude Conover (American, 1907–1994)
• Annette Corcoran (American, born 1930)
• Viola Frey (American, 1933–2004)
• David Gilhooly (American, 1943–2013)
• Babs Haenen (Dutch, born 1948)
• Matthias Merkel Hess (American, born 1978)
• Anne Hirondelle (American, born 1944)
• Sergei Isupov (Russian, born 1963)
• Cliff Lee (American, born Austria, 1951)
• Ah Leon (Taiwanese, born 1953)
• Whitney Lowe (American, born 1958)
• Kris Lyons (American, born 1966)
• Calvin Ma (American, born 1984)
• Mineo Mizuno (American, born Japan, 1944)
• Steven Montgomery (American, born 1954)
• Peter Olson (American, born 1954)
• Edwin Scheier (American, 1910–2008)
• Nancy Selvin (American, born 1943)
• Peter Shire (American, born 1947)
• Mara Superior (American, born 1951)
• Akio Takamori (American, born Japan, 1950–2017)
• Claudia Tarantino (American, born 1944)
• Cheryl Ann Thomas (American, born 1943)
• Peter VandenBerge (American, born The Netherlands, 1935)

High resolution images and interview opportunities are available upon request.

MEDIA CONTACT
Karen Christian
(916) 808-1867
communications@crockerart.org

EN ESPAÑOL
Para leer este comunicado en español, por favor haga clic aquí. Si eres miembro de los medios de comunicación y buscas más información sobre esta exposicion o necesitas ayuda para facilitar una entrevista con alguien relacionado con la exposicion o algún programa, por favor de contactar a Maria Segoviano, 916-808-1186 o msegoviano@crockerart.org.

ABOUT THE CROCKER
Through engaging, innovative, and life-changing interactions with art, the Crocker Art Museum provides meaningful opportunities for people of divergent backgrounds to find common ground. Founded as a public/private partnership in 1885, the Crocker features the world’s foremost display of California art and is renowned for its holdings of master drawings and international ceramics, as well as European, Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Crocker serves as the primary regional resource for the study and appreciation of fine art and offers a diverse spectrum of exhibitions, events, and programs to deepen visitor’s understanding of art, including films, concerts, studio classes, lectures, and an array of activities for families and children. More information about exhibits and programs can be found at crockerart.org

#zemerpeled #dirkstaschke #markmoorefineart #crockerartmuseum

Featured Work by YORAM WOLBERGER

Torrance Art Museum (TAM) presents a bold summer exhibition exploring the intersection between art and warfare, enlisting 16 artists who reflect a world of increased military engagement across the globe. Utilizing a wide range of media in its artistic arsenal, deftly maneuvers through the defining trait of our conflicted times to investigate the invisibility of things in plain sight and the daily relationship to war that underlies the culture at large.

Featured Work by JOSH AZZARELLA

Internationally renowned contemporary artists Vanessa Beecroft and Shaun Gladwell are among the assembled artists who focus their art practice toward political expression and social critique of the institutionalization of war into the fabric of society.

21-year olds have never lived during a time when the US was NOT at war. How and where can we see this reflected in the art works of our time? Where does patriotism end and nationalism begin? How much militarism in a democracy is too much?

Curated by Ichiro Irie and Max Presneill.

Featured Work by KIM RUGG

Featured artists: Shusuke Ao, Josh Azzarella, Vanessa Beecroft, Dan VanClapp, Melanie Friend, Shaun Gladwell, Ben Jackel, Jerome Lagarrigue, Dinh Q. Lê, Hillary Mushkin, Simon Norfolk, Isabel Rocamora, Kim Rugg, Joaquín Segura, Allison Stewart, and Yoram Wolberger.

GENERATION W(ar) will be on view from June 15, 2019 – August 24, 2019 at the Torrance Art Museum.

The opening reception will be held on Saturday, June 15th from 6 pm – 9 pm

For more information visit www.TorranceArtMuseum.com or call 310-618-6388.

Museum Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Admission to the Torrance Art Museum is Free.

Torrance Art Museum
3320 Civic Center Drive
Torrance, CA 90503

TorranceArtMuseum.com
TAMAdvocates.com/
facebook.com/TorranceArtMuseum
Instagram: @torranceartmuseum
Twitter: @TorranceArt

#GENERATIONWar #TorranceArtMuseum #markmoorefineart #yoramwolberger #kimrugg #joshazzarella

Image: Ed Ruscha

“There are things that I’m constantly looking at that I feel should be elevated to greater status, almost to philosophical status or to a religious status. That’s why taking things out of context is a useful tool to an artist. It’s the concept of taking something that’s not subject matter and making it subject matter.” —Ed Ruscha

In “Out of Context” we look at seven contemporary artists that have made the incorporation of text and language a cornerstone for their art – both conceptually and visually. Each artist approaches the subject from their own unique perspective. Artists featured are: Ed Ruscha; Mark Bennett; Kim Rugg; Vernon Fisher; Kay Rosen; Feodor Voronov; and, Ken Craft.

VIEW THIS SHOW NOW AT: http://bit.ly/2YyOcb7

Texts—writings, readings, signs, titles, guides, catalogues, blog posts like this one—are part and parcel of how art is presented in museums. Curious visitors come hungry for enlightening information, for tidbits to connect the dots or stories that humanize the work on view. Art historians act as writers, readers, and investigators whose success can be measured in published output. For those who work with art and appreciate it, language and art are endlessly intertwined.

The history of text and language in contemporary art encompasses most of the last 60 years. Language was an important tool for Conceptual artists in the 1960s. Many used language in place of more traditional materials like brushes and canvas, and words played a primary role in their emphasis on ideas over visual forms. Though text had been used in art long before this, artists like Joseph Kosuth and John Baldesarri were among the first to give words such a central role.

Conceptual artists also used language in the form of instructions detailing how an artwork should be made. Sol LeWitt was among the principal originators of this strategy, which his peers widely embraced. Arguing that ideas alone can be art, he allowed for a measure of separation between the artist and the physical execution of his or her artwork. His work exemplifies this: he would generate ideas for artworks and write instructions on how to make them, which other people—sometimes whole teams working days or weeks—would then carry out.

Image: Vernon Fisher

At about the same time, a cultural revolution was underway, led by activists, thinkers, and artists who sought to change, and even overturn, what was, in their eyes, a stifling social order ruled by conformity. The Vietnam War incited mass protests, the Civil Rights Movement sought equality for African Americans, and the women’s liberation movement gained momentum.

It was in this climate of turbulence, experimentation, and increased consumerism that a new generation of artists emerged in Britain and America in the mid- to late-1950s. These artists began to look for inspiration and materials in their immediate environment. They made art that mirrored, critiqued, and, at times, incorporated everyday items, consumer goods, and mass media messaging and imagery. In reference to its intended popular appeal and its engagement with popular culture, it was called Pop art.

Pop artists strove for straightforwardness in their work, using bold swaths of primary colors, often straight from the can or tube of paint. They adopted commercial advertising methods like silkscreening, or produced multiples, downplaying the artist’s hand and subverting the idea of originality and preciousness—in marked contrast to the highly expressive, large-scale abstract paintings of the Abstract Expressionists, whose work had dominated postwar American art. Pop artists favored realism, everyday (even mundane) imagery, and heavy doses of irony and wit.

But many Pop artists, including Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, were very aware of the past. They sought to connect the traditions of fine art with the mass culture of television, advertising, film, and cartoons. At the same time, they challenged traditional boundaries between mediums and techniques, merging painting with photography and printmaking, combining handmade and readymade or mass-produced elements, and bringing together objects, images, and sometimes text to make new meaning.

It is out of this convergence of Pop Art and Conceptual Art from the Sixties that artists like Ed Ruscha and Vernon Fisher were born and influenced generation of artists to follow, like Mark Bennett; Kim Rugg; Kay Rosen; Feodor Voronov; and, Ken Craft. From this collision of pop culture and high art, we find that some of the most interesting art and ideas born of this period are nothing more than our own lives taken Out of Context.

For more information: http://www.markmoorefineart.com

#markmoorefineart #edrusha #markbennett #kimrugg #vernonfisher #kayrosen #feodorvoronov #kencraft

Mark Moore Fine Art presents the first ARTSY Online Exclusive Career Survey of the works of painter KARA MARIA. The show, titled “Nevertheless” features twelve paintings scanning nearly two decades from the artist’s private collection Opening August 2, 2019.

In this exhibition we survey 12 painting from the career of the San Francisco-based painter. Maria’s work reflects on political topics – feminism, war, and the environment. She borrows from the broad vocabulary of contemporary painting; blending geometric shapes, vivid hues, and abstract marks, with representational elements.

VIEW THIS SHOW NOW AT: http://bit.ly/32kcQ1g

Kara Maria produces paintings and work on paper that reflect on political themes such as feminism, war, and the environment.  She borrows from the broad vocabulary of contemporary painting; blending geometric shapes, vivid hues, and abstract marks, with representational elements. Maria received her BA and MFA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States at venues including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University; the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas; the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art; and the Katonah Museum of Art in New York; among others.

In 2016, Maria’s work was featured in a solo exhibition, Head Over Heels, at the University Art Gallery at California State University, Chico, which included an accompanying monograph.  Her work has garnered critical attention in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Art in America. Maria has completed residencies at the Montalvo Arts Center, Recology Artist in Residence Program, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, and at the de Young’s Artist Studio. She is recipient of multiple awards and honors, including a grant from Artadia and an Eisner Prize in Art from the University of California, Berkeley. Maria lives and works in San Francisco.

For more information, contact: mark@markmoorefineart.com

#karamaria #markmoorefineart

Mark Moore Fine Art is pleased to present “Staycation 2019,” the gallery’s third solo show from Texas-based art collective Okay Mountain. Parodying the American tradition of stay-at-home vacations and the consumerist promises of an escape from the mundane, the nine-member group has created a series photographic works, an installation, and a sound collage for the exhibition.   

YOU CAN VIEW THIS EXHIBITION NOW AT: http://bit.ly/2JnJtDP

Formed in 2006 as an artist-run alternative gallery space, Okay Mountain has since gone on to create installations and multi media assemblages that riff on the American reverence for commerce. Repackaging our consumerist desires with a sardonic edge, the installations mimic the stock vernacular of our communal materialism, yet tweak them just enough to reveal our superficial insecurities and convictions. 

In “Staycation 2019” the group plays on the iconography of the Zen Garden, as seen through the eyes of western popular culture. Creating a purposely-mediated experience of “Zen,” the installation poses as a pre-packaged version of what could have been a meaningful experience, if the consumer had bothered to leave the house. Like the screensaver images of peaceful monuments floating across a laptop, the imagery plays on a desire for escape, but also immediacy—one desire ruling out the other. The result is a razor sharp wit interpretation of a very American mixture of banality and good intentions — an eagerness for a respite from the mundane, without the will to see it through.

While most artists in Okay Mountain are alumni of the University of Texas at Austin (TX), others are graduates of University of California Los Angeles (CA), Rhode Island School of Design (RI), and the University of Kansas (KS). Institutional exhibitions have included those at the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston (TX), Austin Museum of Art (TX), McNay Art Museum (TX), Arthouse (TX), University of Tennessee, Chattanooga (TN), and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (MA). Their work is included in the permanent collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (CT), McNay Museum of Art (TX), Orange County Museum of Art (CA), Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (CA), Santa Barabara Museum of Art (CA), and Vanderbilt University (TN).

For further information, contact us at: info@markmoorefineart.com

#markmoorefineart #OKM #okaymountain

Image: Ed Ruscha

“There are things that I’m constantly looking at that I feel should be elevated to greater status, almost to philosophical status or to a religious status. That’s why taking things out of context is a useful tool to an artist. It’s the concept of taking something that’s not subject matter and making it subject matter.” —Ed Ruscha

In “Out of Context” we look at seven contemporary artists that have made the incorporation of text and language a cornerstone for their art – both conceptually and visually. Each artist approaches the subject from their own unique perspective. Artists featured are: Ed Ruscha; Mark Bennett; Kim Rugg; Vernon Fisher; Kay Rosen; Feodor Voronov; and, Ken Craft.

VIEW THIS SHOW NOW AT: http://bit.ly/2YyOcb7

Texts—writings, readings, signs, titles, guides, catalogues, blog posts like this one—are part and parcel of how art is presented in museums. Curious visitors come hungry for enlightening information, for tidbits to connect the dots or stories that humanize the work on view. Art historians act as writers, readers, and investigators whose success can be measured in published output. For those who work with art and appreciate it, language and art are endlessly intertwined.

The history of text and language in contemporary art encompasses most of the last 60 years. Language was an important tool for Conceptual artists in the 1960s. Many used language in place of more traditional materials like brushes and canvas, and words played a primary role in their emphasis on ideas over visual forms. Though text had been used in art long before this, artists like Joseph Kosuth and John Baldesarri were among the first to give words such a central role.

Conceptual artists also used language in the form of instructions detailing how an artwork should be made. Sol LeWitt was among the principal originators of this strategy, which his peers widely embraced. Arguing that ideas alone can be art, he allowed for a measure of separation between the artist and the physical execution of his or her artwork. His work exemplifies this: he would generate ideas for artworks and write instructions on how to make them, which other people—sometimes whole teams working days or weeks—would then carry out.

Image: Vernon Fisher

At about the same time, a cultural revolution was underway, led by activists, thinkers, and artists who sought to change, and even overturn, what was, in their eyes, a stifling social order ruled by conformity. The Vietnam War incited mass protests, the Civil Rights Movement sought equality for African Americans, and the women’s liberation movement gained momentum.

It was in this climate of turbulence, experimentation, and increased consumerism that a new generation of artists emerged in Britain and America in the mid- to late-1950s. These artists began to look for inspiration and materials in their immediate environment. They made art that mirrored, critiqued, and, at times, incorporated everyday items, consumer goods, and mass media messaging and imagery. In reference to its intended popular appeal and its engagement with popular culture, it was called Pop art.

Pop artists strove for straightforwardness in their work, using bold swaths of primary colors, often straight from the can or tube of paint. They adopted commercial advertising methods like silkscreening, or produced multiples, downplaying the artist’s hand and subverting the idea of originality and preciousness—in marked contrast to the highly expressive, large-scale abstract paintings of the Abstract Expressionists, whose work had dominated postwar American art. Pop artists favored realism, everyday (even mundane) imagery, and heavy doses of irony and wit.

But many Pop artists, including Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, were very aware of the past. They sought to connect the traditions of fine art with the mass culture of television, advertising, film, and cartoons. At the same time, they challenged traditional boundaries between mediums and techniques, merging painting with photography and printmaking, combining handmade and readymade or mass-produced elements, and bringing together objects, images, and sometimes text to make new meaning.

It is out of this convergence of Pop Art and Conceptual Art from the Sixties that artists like Ed Ruscha and Vernon Fisher were born and influenced generation of artists to follow, like Mark Bennett; Kim Rugg; Kay Rosen; Feodor Voronov; and, Ken Craft. From this collision of pop culture and high art, we find that some of the most interesting art and ideas born of this period are nothing more than our own lives taken Out of Context.

For more information: http://www.markmoorefineart.com

#markmoorefineart #edrusha #markbennett #kimrugg #vernonfisher #kayrosen #feodorvoronov #kencraft

Mark Moore Fine Art is pleased to present “Staycation 2019,” the gallery’s third solo show from Texas-based art collective Okay Mountain. Parodying the American tradition of stay-at-home vacations and the consumerist promises of an escape from the mundane, the nine-member group has created a series photographic works, an installation, and a sound collage for the exhibition.   

YOU CAN VIEW THIS EXHIBITION NOW AT: http://bit.ly/2JnJtDP

Formed in 2006 as an artist-run alternative gallery space, Okay Mountain has since gone on to create installations and multi media assemblages that riff on the American reverence for commerce. Repackaging our consumerist desires with a sardonic edge, the installations mimic the stock vernacular of our communal materialism, yet tweak them just enough to reveal our superficial insecurities and convictions. 

In “Staycation 2019” the group plays on the iconography of the Zen Garden, as seen through the eyes of western popular culture. Creating a purposely-mediated experience of “Zen,” the installation poses as a pre-packaged version of what could have been a meaningful experience, if the consumer had bothered to leave the house. Like the screensaver images of peaceful monuments floating across a laptop, the imagery plays on a desire for escape, but also immediacy—one desire ruling out the other. The result is a razor sharp wit interpretation of a very American mixture of banality and good intentions — an eagerness for a respite from the mundane, without the will to see it through.

While most artists in Okay Mountain are alumni of the University of Texas at Austin (TX), others are graduates of University of California Los Angeles (CA), Rhode Island School of Design (RI), and the University of Kansas (KS). Institutional exhibitions have included those at the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston (TX), Austin Museum of Art (TX), McNay Art Museum (TX), Arthouse (TX), University of Tennessee, Chattanooga (TN), and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (MA). Their work is included in the permanent collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (CT), McNay Museum of Art (TX), Orange County Museum of Art (CA), Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (CA), Santa Barabara Museum of Art (CA), and Vanderbilt University (TN).

For further information, contact us at: info@markmoorefineart.com

#markmoorefineart #OKM #okaymountain

I thought you might be interested to know that Cool Clay currently on view at the Crocker Art Museum is featured on the front page of today’s ArtDaily.com, and includes an image of Zemer Peled’s work (scroll down and you’ll see it on the right hand side):

The link to the full press release is: http://artdaily.com/news/115413/-Cool-Clay–acquisitions-highlight-experimental-nature-of-ceramics#.XTXpefJKhph

Zemer Peled utilizes a process of creation and destruction to make sculptures consisting of thousands of handcrafted porcelain shards resulting in works that can be read in relation to art historical tradition, outsider art, and natural phenomena.

The sculpture’s narrative impulses lean to encounters with the otherworldly—like complex topiaries marking a not-so-distant land–yet they remain distinctly tied to earth’s patterns. This conflation of the foreign and familiar creates a frenzied dislocation in the work. Inspired by migratory habits of birds, a sweep of feathers, and cycles of change, the works spiral outwardly in rhythmic patterns, interpreting not only the dynamism of nature, but also the startling strangeness of a life lived in transition.

Peled’s work examines the beauty and brutality of the natural world. Her sculptural language is formed by her surrounding landscapes and nature, and engages with themes of memories, identity, and place. Her sculptures and installations consist of thousands of hand-crafted porcelain shards; a technique that yields a texture both delicate and severe. In some works, large scale-like ceramic pieces appear airy, delicate, and fluffy, as if one’s breath might break it. In others, Peled’s fragments are geometric barbs that mysteriously take on an alluring form – offering a sense of softness despite a sharp actuality. She has recently been featured in Hi-Fructose Magazine, Colossal, National Public Radio, MIND Magazine, O Magazine, and Ceramics Monthly (which featured her on the cover of the May 2015 issue).

Zemer Peled (b. 1983) was born and raised in a Kibbutz in the northern part of Israel. After completing her BFA from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design (Jerusalem), she earned her MA at the Royal College of Art (UK). In recent years, her work has been exhibited internationally, including such venues as Sotheby’s and Saatchi Gallery (London), Eretz Israel Museum (Tel Aviv), the Henry Moore Gallery at the Royal College of Art (London), and the Orangerie du Senate (Paris), among others. The artist currently lives and works at the Archie Bray Foundation Residency (Helena, MT). Additional information on this incredible artist can be found on our website at: www.markmoorefineart.com

ARTSY website: www.artsy.net/mark-moore-gallery

#markmoorefineart #zemerpeled #crockerartmuseum #coolclay

Mark Moore Fine Art is pleased to present “Staycation 2019,” the gallery’s third solo show from Texas-based art collective Okay Mountain. Parodying the American tradition of stay-at-home vacations and the consumerist promises of an escape from the mundane, the nine-member group has created a series photographic works, an installation, and a sound collage for the exhibition.   

YOU CAN VIEW THIS EXHIBITION NOW AT: http://bit.ly/2JnJtDP

Formed in 2006 as an artist-run alternative gallery space, Okay Mountain has since gone on to create installations and multi media assemblages that riff on the American reverence for commerce. Repackaging our consumerist desires with a sardonic edge, the installations mimic the stock vernacular of our communal materialism, yet tweak them just enough to reveal our superficial insecurities and convictions.

In “Staycation 2019” the group plays on the iconography of the Zen Garden, as seen through the eyes of western popular culture. Creating a purposely-mediated experience of “Zen,” the installation poses as a pre-packaged version of what could have been a meaningful experience, if the consumer had bothered to leave the house. Like the screensaver images of peaceful monuments floating across a laptop, the imagery plays on a desire for escape, but also immediacy—one desire ruling out the other. The result is a razor sharp wit interpretation of a very American mixture of banality and good intentions — an eagerness for a respite from the mundane, without the will to see it through.

While most artists in Okay Mountain are alumni of the University of Texas at Austin (TX), others are graduates of University of California Los Angeles (CA), Rhode Island School of Design (RI), and the University of Kansas (KS). Institutional exhibitions have included those at the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston (TX), Austin Museum of Art (TX), McNay Art Museum (TX), Arthouse (TX), University of Tennessee, Chattanooga (TN), and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (MA). Their work is included in the permanent collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (CT), McNay Museum of Art (TX), Orange County Museum of Art (CA), Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (CA), Santa Barabara Museum of Art (CA), and Vanderbilt University (TN).

For further information, contact us at: info@markmoorefineart.com

#markmoorefineart #OKM #okaymountain

ON VIEW NOW: “Pop Culture: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation” at the Fine Arts Gallery featuring the work of YORAM WOLBERGER

Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery

California State University, Los Angeles

5151 State University Drive

Information: (323) 343-4022

Exhibition dates:

June 1 – Aug 2, 2019

The exhibition may be viewed:

Monday – Friday 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm

For more information, go to:

https://csulauniversitytimes.com/pop-culture-at-the-fine-arts-gallery/

The exhibit features artists like Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Jenny Holzer, Keith Haring and much more, all curated by Billie Milam Weisman; president and director of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. Each piece of art on display offers a critique of idolization and commercialization of pop culture through recognizable characters and brands.

When the Pop Art movement first surfaced in the mid 1950s artists sought to challenge traditional conceptions of art-making by incorporating consumer culture and everyday objects into their work. Artists during this period transformed icons associated with mass media, comic books, and popular culture into visual expressions that often reflected a growing societal infatuation with consumerism. When it originated, the Pop art movement sought to ironically emphasize images representing the commonplace or kitschy elements of a given culture. Today, contemporary artists have elaborated on the traditions established by the Pop artists who created an aesthetic style that reflected the changing needs and interests of varying societies. This exhibition merges art that reflects and comments on POPular and unPOPular culture and vernacular of the 1960s to the present with selections curated from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation.

#yoramwolberger #markmoorefineart #weismanartfoundation #CSULA