| That '80s Art Show |
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Totally Rad: New York in the '80s July 10 – September 6, 2008 Paul Kasmin Gallery 293 Tenth Avenue New York, NY 10001 paulkasmingallery.com  Paul Kasmin Gallery presents Totally Rad: New York in the '80s, an exhibition of major paintings, sculptures, and works on paper that characterize a decade when New York was the center of a new art world.In June of 1980, Collaborative Projects organized the Times Square Show. Held in a former bus depot and massage parlor, the show allowed such artists as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel to exhibit work in the newly-revived city. Institutional support followed from P.S. 1 with New York/New Wave, which galvanized the careers of young talent in an unprecedented fashion. Fueled by an influx of wealth and an opulence of spending, the art world became a scene unto itself; in the words of Steven Hager, “underground ideas became marketable commodities, blatant careerism was in fashion, and young painters were rapidly replacing rock stars at the forefront of youth culture.” Several major, large-scale works from this era will be on view at 293 Tenth Avenue, including Kenny Scharf's Agua Pollination (pictured above). In Scharf's visual language, the two figures of Wilma and Fred Flinstone “are fertilizing, pollinating.” While thoughts of reproduction permeated his works as the birth of his daughter neared, the painting also embodies Scharf's interest in utility -- art being more than a two-dimensional object to be observed, evidenced as the painting continues beyond the canvas. Agua Pollination is juxtaposed with works such as Frank Stella's Talledega. Stella emerged in the 1950s with his minimalist, black canvases. Talledega marks a departure from his earlier work as he embraces spectrums of color and curvilinear forms, consistent with the spirit of '80s exuberance and splendor. Artists who works are included in this exhibition are Jean-Michel Basquiat, Peter Halley, Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, Jeff Koons, Annette Lemieux, Allan McCollum, Robert Longo, David Salle, Kenny Scharf, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Haim Steinbach, Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, and David Wojnarowicz. |
