The Robert Berman Gallery Presents Drawings & Cartoons by Mr. Fish

Written by Ronald Thatcher Friday, 05 August 2011 23:56

Santa Monica, CA.- The Robert Berman Gallery in conjunction with Truthdig is pleased to present the original drawings and unique multiples of Dwayne Booth aka Mr. Fish - political cartoonist and author of 'Go Fish' (how to win contempt and influence people.) "Mr. Fish" is on view at the gallery from August 6th through August 27th. �Behold the cartoons in 'Go Fish': there is no more savage yet brilliant wit than that possessed by Mr. Fish, who will never compromise on his deep artistic insight or the outrageous honesty of his social commentary. In a sellout culture he is that rare witness for unfettered truth.� - Robert Scheer, Editor in Chief, truthdig and author of The Great American Stickup. Mr. Fish and Robert Scheer will be in attendance at the opening reception to sign and discuss 'Go Fish', the debut volume of political cartoons and essays in which most of the exhibited work is published. 10% of all opening night sales (Saturday, August 6, 2011) will benefit Truthdig.

In the appendix of his book, Mr. Fish dissects the journalistic responsibility he faces as a cartoonist to make it make sense. It being his raw emotional output in response to a given stimuli (government, society, et al) manifesting itself via pen on paper without regard to the cleverly pointed punchline that will accompany and ultimately define it.  In his inaugural gallery show, he eschews that responsibility; the political cartoons hanging vulnerably on the walls in their original illustrated state, stripped of any captioning and absolute clarity. If the objective of a political cartoonist is to speak clearly than the goal of this exhibition is to express freely. The drawings are a celebration of the technical mastery and unbridled emotional truth of Dwayne Booth � the Clark Kent to Superman�s Mr. Fish. Mr. Fish has been a freelance writer and cartoonist for eighteen years, publishing under both his real name (Dwayne Booth) and the penname of Mr. Fish with many of the nation's most reputable and prestigious magazines, journals, and newspapers. In addition to his weekly cartoon for Harper's and daily contributions to Truthdig, he has also contributed to the Los Angeles Times, the Village Voice, the LA Weekly, the Atlantic, the Huffington Post, The Nation, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, the Advocate, Z Magazine, the Utne Reader, Slate.com, MSNBC.com, and others. He has also worked for National Public Radio. In May 2008 he was presented with a first place award by the Los Angeles Press Club for editorial cartooning. In May 2010 he was awarded the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Editorial Cartooning from the Society of Professional Journalists and most recently won the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Award in May of 2011. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and twin daughters.

The Robert Berman Gallery has been in business in Santa Monica, California since 1979. One of the first galleries to be located at Bergamot Station Arts Center, it has occupied two exhibition spaces there for the last thirteen years. Founder and owner Robert Berman was early on in exhibiting artists such as Keith Haring and Raymond Pettibon and has done historical and seminal exhibitions by such artists as William S. Burroughs and Man Ray. The gallery has a rotating exhibition schedule specializing in mid-career and established artists in all mediums. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.robertbermangallery.com

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