A painters sculptural turn and an insider art world favorite. Mark grotjahn s work reinvents visual concepts from the history of painting, taking on wellknown tropes ranging from renaissance perspective to early pablo picasso mask. He painted the boxes and attached toilet paper roll tubes that stuck out between cutout eyes. A sense of space is evoked by the drawings multiple vanishing points, a convention used since the renaissance to create the illusion of depth and volume. Gagosian is pleased to present mark grotjahn s first exhibition of painted bronze sculptures. This fully illustrated catalogue constitutes the first survey of his work from the late 1990s to the present and features essays by the art critic. Jul 10, 2016 the interview with mark grotjahn takes place in a suite of claridges hotel in london, where he has recently opened an exhibition of his masks at the gagosian gallery called pink cosco. Each purchase directly supports the museum of contemporary art. Besides perspective, grotjahn also explored the ideas of color restriction, seriality, and the sublime in his butterfly series, available in many museum shows. The first, and only, book dedicated to mark grotjahns rarely seen colorful cast bronze sculptures.
Sign up to receive a discount for the spring 2021 launch. This largescale canvas is a significant work from mark grotjahn s highly acclaimed series of face paintings, which combine expressive abstraction and kaleidoscopic hues with strong connections to the mask like faces rendered by picasso and matisse. In 1995, he was an artistinresidence at the skowhegan school of painting and sculpture in madison, maine. The first, and only, book dedicated to mark grotjahn s rarely seen colorful cast bronze sculptures. Grotjahn received his mfa from the university of california, berkeley, and his bfa from the university of colorado at boulder. Sep 22, 2006 two such works got a bit lost in the shuffle at last springs whitney biennial, but now mr. A reproduction can never fully suffice to convey the complexity and ambiguity of these works. Mark grotjahn s born 1968 ongoing butterfly seriesone of several investigations into the natural world in grotjahn s oeuvrefocuses on perspectival techniques used since the renaissance, such as dual and multiple vanishing points, to create the illusion of depth on a twodimensional surface. Within the intense concentration of grotjahn s monochrome, subtle diversity of hue, texture, and tone emerge as an infinite. Jun 20, 2015 mark grotjahn received a bfa from the university of colorado, boulder and an mfa from the university of california, berkeley. It is the visual splendor of the site rather than the significance of this writer or his house that informs the paintings.
Mark grotjahn untitled scribble scrabble, french mask. Moca masks are designed by virgil abloh, mark grotjahn, alex israel, barbara kruger, yoko ono, catherine opie, pipilotti rist, hank willis thomas, and the andy warhol foundation for visual arts. Jun 30, 2014 mark grotjahn untitled french, mask m31. Mark grotjahn and tabwa masks, frieze, london, uk mark grotjahn sculpture, nasher sculpture center, dallas, tx cat. Ny010208, mark grotjahn, untitled blue face grotjahn.
This largescale canvas is a significant work from mark grotjahn s highly acclaimed series of face paintings, which combine expressive abstraction and kaleidoscopic hues with strong connections to the mask like. Mark grotjahn stopped artwork his butterfly work in 2008, after tearing the rotator cuff and shoulder bone after hitting a patch of ice while skiing. Mark grotjahn humanity magazine art, graffiti, modern art. Learn about the work and career of artist mark grotjahn. Cast in bronze from spontaneous cardboard assemblages that he has been working on privately for over a. Theater visual art opera dance books entertainment movies. Cuna shamans in central america stress the otherness of the western world by guiding the souls of their dead to a realm that is nothing but a modern city with houses, ships, and radios kramer, 1989. Painter and draftsman mark grotjahn is known for his ongoing investigation of perspective. Shop mark grotjahn masks catalogue marks, book art. Mark grotjahn art monographs and museum exhibition catalogs. As he painted his butterfly paintings, grotjahn sought an escape from precision.
Virgil abloh, mark grotjahn, alex israel, barbara kruger, yoko ono, catherine opie, pipilotti rist, hank willis thomas, and the andy. It allows me licences that i normally do not have in my paintings. In the butterfly paintings starting in 1997, he uses dual and multiple vanishing points to create complex compositions of radiant, tonal color, alluding to such touchstones in the history of modernist painting as russian constructivism, op art, and barnett newmans zips. Parker studio grotjahn has essentially brought together different ways of applying paint. Mark grotjahn, an artist best known for his laborious and intricate paintings, is something of a hoarder. Oct 29, 2015 the mask or the grotesque face, a central although not always visible motif in grotjahn s painting and drawing practice from the beginning, has broken out of the flat surface into a threedimensional form, and thereby freed the artist from the need to adhere to any facelike verisimilitude in the painting process.
The catalogue chronicles grotjahn s series of butterfly paintings and drawings, in which he combines varying schemes of onepoint perspective and a systematic investigation of color to mesmerizing effect. Sep 27, 2019 american painter mark grotjahn on his creative process, what he likes seeing in works of art, and his favorite artists. Shop mark grotjahn masks catalogue marks, book art, prints. Untitled dancing black butterflies, drawing in 9 parts. Jan 11, 2008 subtitled an exhibition of historic masks and contemporary works curated in collaboration with joseph g. Mark grotjahn untitled scribble scrabble, french mask m31. Though at first the butterfly paintings may appear entirely formal and graphic alluding to. The catalogue chronicles grotjahns series of butterfly paintings and drawings, in which he combines varying schemes of onepoint perspective and a systematic investigation of color to mesmerizing effect. Moca mask collection nine limitedproduction, artistdesigned face masks by virgil abloh, mark grotjahn, alex israel, barbara kruger, yoko ono, catherine opie, pipilotti rist, hank willis thomas, and the andy warhol foundation for visual arts, plus moca mask. Mark grotjahn, untitled dark blue over light blue orange brown nose morgan mask m21. It is a stunning visual environment full with color and texture, at which american artist mark grotjahn was invited to make a private exhibition in 2016. Moca launches face masks from 9 artists including warhol.
Our masks are designed for comfort and ease of wear without sacrificing. Gerena fine art, this gathering of more than 40 masks and hoods, and more than 30. Aug 07, 2020 the museum of contemporary art moca has released a limitedproduction of artistdesigned face masks in response to the covid19 safety and health guidelines. Dec 22, 2018 in 2010 grotjahn started casting the masks in bronze. Cast in bronze from spontaneous cardboard assemblages that he has been working on privately for over a decade, they record all the nuances of the original found material with its corrugations, dents, tears, and creases. He paints the cardboard masks and the bronzes that follow them in a way that is freer than his usual studio work.
How art star mark grotjahn became art star mark grotjahn by repainting signs for local mom and pop stores in l. Grotjahn has filled the museums ground floor gallery with 8 brash doorsize color pencil drawings from. Mark grotjahn, 980 madison avenue, new york, september. Bristling with ecstatic energy and seductive power, untitled s iii released to france face 43. In many of the sculptures, he incorporated and retained remnants of the bronze casting process, such as the sprues and runners, into his final work. Collection of nine limitedproduction, artistdesigned face masks plus moca mask. As he does with his paintings, grotjahn often boldly signs the masks, allowing his signature to come forward as a compositional element. Born in pasadena, california skowhegan school of painting and sculpture, skowhegan, me department of art practice, university of. Glenn obrien is an american writer, largely on the subjects of art, music, and fashion. A painters sculptural turn and an insider art world. The original masks are made from scraps of corrugated paper or cardboard salvaged from shipments of art supplies, beer boxes or gifts sent by friends. Mark grotjahn stopped artwork his butterfly work in 2008, after tearing the rotator cuff and shoulder bone after hitting a. His heterogeneous oeu vre includes depictions of anthropomorphic plants and masks as well as co lorful abstract compositions in oil or wax crayon. In 2018, grotjahn s butterfly works were the subject of the exhibition mark grotjahn.
His father michael, a psychiatrist, had emigrated from berlin, germany in 1936. The interview with mark grotjahn takes place in a suite of claridges hotel in london, where. Mark grotjahn, untitled dancing black butterflies, drawing in 9 parts, 20052007, color pencil on paper in nine parts, the broad art foundation. This fully illustrated catalogue constitutes the first survey of his work from the late 1990s to the present and features essays by the art critic barry schwabsky and aspen art museum director. They made an anthropologist mask and a wooden camera. As he does with his paintings, grotjahn often boldly signs the masks, allowing his signature to come. Aug 27, 2015 the online gagosian shop features unique art books, posters, prints, apparel, homeware, and more. Mark grotjahn, takashi murakami untitled scarlet lake and indigo blue butterfly 826, 20082010 and untitled canary yellow and black butterfly 830, 20082010 ragowright. Mark grotjahn s work reinvents visual concepts from the history of painting, taking on wellknown tropes ranging from renaissance perspective to early pablo picasso mask paintings. He paints the cardboard masks and the bronzes that follow them in a way that is freer than hi. Sep 15, 2006 conceived for this exhibition, mark grotjahn s cycle of perspective drawings pulls the viewer into a dynamic interplay between the largescale works and the gallery space. Ten artists, harpers books, east hampton, ny space between, the flag art foundation, new york, ny. Aug 27, 2015 the online gagosian shop features unique art books, posters, prints, apparel, homeware.
1091 1452 210 1611 220 174 1652 526 686 1486 1455 183 432 139 879 152 1666 992 1433 1257 862 35 1626