Art Knowledge News
Constellations: Paintings from the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Collection |
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| Written by Kenneth Manzo |
| Thursday, 11 February 2010 22:32 |
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 The long history of painting as an
artistic medium, which dates back to the pre-historic cave paintings at
Lascaux, necessitates that contemporary artists have an awareness of the
past while working in the present to create something significant for the
future. For centuries, humans have created ways to understand the universe
around them through pictorial representation. One of the earliest examples
of this was the creation of astral constellations by farmers, poets,
sailors, and others, to more readily find their geographic position in the
world in relationship to the stars. This impulse remains, as we continue
to question and seek answers about contemporary life through painting, an
ancient yet vital art form, that is, to many, the quintessential art form.
Within the exhibition, the constellations aim to make connections between works across generations through the various interests, positions, styles, and histories that artists address within their approach to painting. The five constellations are: New Approaches to Traditional Subjects: the Landscape and Figure; A Faux Naïve Style; The Painting as Object: A Critique of Illusion in Painting; The Phenomenon of Form and Color, Appropriation and Collage in Painting; and In-Between Representation and Abstraction. All of the works in this exhibition are united by the use of paint, a brush, and a support to emphasize the complex and varied manner in which artist’s use similar materials. This is not an exhibition that seeks to redefine what can be considered a painting, but rather examines how painting endures as a vibrant art form, more than one hundred years after it was proclaimed “dead” at the advent of photography. Augmented by major works from important private collections, the work of approximately 75 of the most important artists of the last 60 years featured in this exhibition includes: Chuck Close, Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Jasper Johns, Luc Tuymans, H.C. Westermann, Josef Albers, Rene Magritte, Francis Bacon, Brice Marden, Caroll Dunham, Thomas Scheibitz, Jean Dubuffet, Sherrie Levine, Jules Olitski, Kenneth Noland, Max Ernst, Sigmar Polke, Rebecca Morris, Roberto Matta, and Yves Tanguy, among others. Featured Chicago artists include Kerry James Marshall, Judy Ledgerwood, Scott Reeder, Marie Krane Bergman, and Vera Klement. This exhibition is organized by Julie Rodrigues Widholm, Pamela Alper Associate Curator. A documentary film produced by Rodrigues Widholm shares artists’ responses to the question, “Why paint?” Many of the interviewed artists are part of Constellations including Kerry James Marshall, Judy Ledgerwood, Marie Krane Bergman, and Scott Reeder. Visit : www.mcachicago.org/ Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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