Exhibition Details
PICTURE BOOKS : June 7 - September 4
James Aponovich, Richard Baker, Ruth Bauer, Bruce Barry, Thomas Birtwistle, Squeak Carnwath, Linda Connor, Erica Daborn, Rebecca Doughty, Jack Foley, Lucy Fradkin, Leonard Freed, Eric Gottesman, Cynthia Greig, Frances Hamilton, Dave Jordano, Elizabeth Johansson, Barbara Kassel, Roger Kizik, James and Karla Murray, Gary Nisbet, Christopher Payne, Dan H. Phillips, Rosamund Purcell, Dawn Southworth, Zarko Stefancic, Sterling Mulbry, Andrew Stevovich, John Willis
On Saturday, June 11th, Clark will celebrate PICTURE BOOKS with a daylong sidewalk book sale and evening reception at the gallery. The book sale will include titles in all genres and will be hosted in collaboration with the Lincoln Public Library. All are invited to peruse the heavily laden tables from 9am until 4pm, when the featured artists will gather for a reception open to all from 4 - 6 PM.
Clark Gallery celebrates the past time of summer reading with an exciting group exhibition of work in all media from June 7th through August 6th. PICTURE BOOKS will pull together paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures by nearly thirty artists from across the country. The exhibited artworks picture books compositionally or integrate the book form within their material structure. As new technologies are introduced to replace the traditional book of bound paper pages, PICTURE BOOKS reminds us of the strong presence of books in art, the significant tradition of recording important events, stories, and lessons within books, and the incredible value of reading.
Featured photographer Leonard Freed (1929-2006) made photographs as a method of exploring societal violence and racial discrimination. His coverage of the American civil rights movement brought him initial distinction. In 1972, Freed became an early member of Magnum and went on to publish several historically significant and groundbreaking monographs including Black in White America in 1968, and Police Work in 1980. Freed's images are, like those of Boubat, Doisneau, and Cartier-Bresson, full of irony, humor, and pathos. In A Jewish Boy, NYC, 1954, Freed captures a young boy in dark jacket and hat sitting with an open book in his hands. The boy has been distracted and turns toward the viewer through the frame of a gilded window. The viewer feels both the boy’s curiosity and wonders at the words sitting upon his book’s pages.
Massachusetts based painter Roger Kizik shapes large-scale panels to accommodate portraits of books with personal significance. Eliminating the environment in which his subject may rest, Kizik draws attention to the characteristics of each individual book while pushing the viewer with the dimensionality created by the compositions. Art monographs, exhibition catalogues, collections of essays, and how to guides are rendered with thickly applied acrylic paints that are scraped and sculpted over the painting’s surface. With tears to the paper jackets and mold peppering the spines, the well-loved subjects are painted to highlight their individuality.
Photographer Eric Gottesman uses his camera as an agent of education, communication, and exchange while immersed in small communities in Africa and the Middle East. His photographs are cultural collaborations that encourage new ways of communicating visually, thereby surpassing the limitations of language. PICTURE BOOKS features Gottesman’s photograph of a Jordan portrait photographer’s studio backdrop. Shelves of blue and red bound books flank a fireplace mantle. The scene has been painted on a cloth to evoke a library or academic study. The flatly composed setting beckons for a portrait sitter while emphasizing the esteem held for books in all societies.
For further information contact Kristen Zeiser Kristen@clarkgallery.com / (781) 259-8303
Sidewalk Book Sale every Saturday through the summer.
