COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is extremely excited to host The Eclectic Eye: Pop and Illusion – Selections from the Frederick OR. Weisman Art Foundation as the inaugural exhibition in the new traveling exhibition galleries. The 150 works in the exhibition draw from Weisman’s great passion for pop art and illusionistic art from the 1960s, ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, from such artists as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Motherwell, David Hockney, Duane Hanson, and Keith Haring, among others.

The exhibition continues through Oct. 28 at the FAC Main.

“This exhibition boasts astounding works by iconic artists, side by side with great works by younger artists,” said Blake Milteer, FAC Curator for 19^th- 21^st Century American Art.

“We’ve never installed anything like this here before,” Milteer said. “I think this exhibition is going to have a lot of firsts for us and our visitors. Following our great Warhol and Peter Max exhibitions at the FAC, our audience is very familiar with Pop Art and this show will expand the language of what Pop Art was and is; ‘illusion’ will take us in some new and exciting directions.”

Four of Milteer’s top picks from the exhibition include:

Duane Hanson was one of the 20th century’s preeminent sculptors, best known for life-sized realistic works of people. The works are so realistic that they have been known to fool gallery visitors. Both Hanson and Weisman are from Minnesota. The sculpture, “Executive on Telephone,” is a portrait of Frederick’s father, William Weisman.

Nam June Paik, a South Korean-born American artist, is credited as the first video artist, elevating the use of monitors, music and performance in art. His work, like Michelin Man Laser Robot, can be found in museums around the world and in American museums such as the Smithsonian, the Hirshhorn and Walker Art Center.

In 2007, Andy Warhol, the central figure in the Pop Art movement, became the second-highest-grossing artist in history after Pablo Picasso. Warhol created many paintings that remain icons of 20th century art, including the Marilyn Monroe screen prints. He is generally acknowledged as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

Tom Wesselman specialized in found art collages, producing large-scale paintings mixed with other elements. A contemporary of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, Wesselmann combined images of the modern, temporary society with enduring artworks from the past, such as the famous portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart next to a table of fruit and a real television monitor in Still Life #31.

In the late 1950s, our society’s increasing inundation with mass media and advertising provided vibrant subjects and techniques for artists who wished to address popular culture’s vitality and its influence on our everyday lives. Pop art has since taken many forms such as Andy Warhol’s images immortalizing popular consumer brands like Campbell’s Soup and celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Roy Lichtenstein’s reinterpretations of comic strip subjects and styles, and Ed Ruscha’s paintings inspired by advertising graphics.

Illusionistic art depicts people, objects, and scenes similarly to the ways our eyes see. We often think of illusionism in contrast to abstraction. Artists have developed illusion throughout history, and its perfection is considered to be one of the greatest achievements of Renaissance painters. In the 20th century, illusionistic painting continued through artists like James Rosenquist and was extended in new and exciting ways to sculpture and photography through artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Duane Hanson, and David Hockney.

The Eclectic Eye: Pop and Illusion spotlights a selection of these artists, images, and ideas that have transformed our cultures in the last half-century and also offers a glimpse into the personal vision of one of America’s most important collectors of 20th century art. The Eclectic Eye is the single-most important exhibition to travel to Colorado Springs. The show also has the distinction of being the inaugural exhibition in the museum’s astounding new traveling exhibition space. .

ABOUT THE FINE ARTS CENTER
Founded in 1936, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is a privately funded, non-profit art museum, performing arts theatre, and arts education center. The two-story, 48,000 square-foot expansion to be unveiled Aug. 2-5 during the Extremely Grand Opening was conceived and designed by award-winning architect and Colorado Springs native David Owen Tryba to complement the original 1936 John Gaw Meem building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visit : www.csfineartscenter.org.