Art & Art History
A Visible Order
Artists: Mac Adams, Zeke Berman, Dianne BleIl, Christian Boltanski, Ellen Brooks, Jo Ann Callis, Bruce Charlesworth, Bernard Faucon, Judy Fiskin, Joan Fontcuberta, Stephen Frailey, Jan Groover, Barbara Kasten, Pascal Kern, George Legrady, Robert Levin, Frank Majore, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tim Haul, Sheila Metzner, Allan McCollum and Laurie Simmons, Brian Oglesbee, Victor Schrager, Elliot Schwartz, Andres Serrano, Anne Turyn, Boyd Webb, James Welling, and Neil Winokur
A Visible Order presents a diverse selection of recent photographic still lifes. This highly selective survey, curated by Paul Laster and Renee Riccardo, included some forty photographs made within the past five years (1982-87) by twenty-four artists: Mac Adams, Zeke Berman, Dianne BleIl, Christian Boltanski, Ellen Brooks, Jo Ann Callis, Bruce Charlesworth, Bernard Faucon, Judy Fiskin, Joan Fontcuberta, Stephen Frailey, Jan Groover, Barbara Kasten, Pascal Kern, George Legrady, Robert Levin, Frank Majore, Robert Mapplethorpe, Tim Haul, Sheila Metzner, Allan McCollum and Laurie Simmons, Brian Oglesbee, Victor Schrager, Elliot Schwartz, Andres Serrano, Anne Turyn, Boyd Webb, James Welling and Neil Winokur. Several photographs were new works while others had only rarely been exhibited to the public.
Still life, in its traditional sense, is about the relationship between objects and the relationship of objects to the spaces around them, the objects ’ significance for us and their place in our lives. By looking at things in an objective way or by using them as vehicles for formal or symbolic expression, these artists force the viewer to critically examine the reality and consciousness of our time. Through their pictorial and spatial investigations, these artists expand the definition of still life and the means for representing it. Whether arranged, fabricated or found, the still life images of A Visible Order invite our involvement, while they provoke our thoughts; they become arenas of contemplation beyond the expectations of the genre.
Paul Laster (born 1951) is the Adjunct Curator of Photography at MoMA/P.S. 1. His work has been featured in exhibitions at Robbin Lockett Gallery, Chicago (1986); Fashion Moda, Bronx (1985) and Windows on White, New York (1983). Laster attended the University of Houston to study History. He later moved to New York to pursue studying photography at the New School.
Renée Riccardo began her career as an artist but quickly began curating independently. Growing up on Long Island, Riccardo frequently visited New York’s many museums and galleries; inspiring her to become more involved with the arts. Riccardo worked alongside Paul Laster as an Adjunct Curator of Photography at MoMa/P.S. 1.
Postcard: A Visible Order
EXHIBITION CHECKLIST
Mac Adams
Post Modern Tragedy/ Cocktail Shaker, 1987
C-print mounted on board, 40 x 28 in.
Courtesy Farideh Cadot Gallery, New York.
Zeke Berman
Kite, 1987
Silver gelatin photographic print, 30 1/4 x 38 1/4 in.
Courtesy Lieberman and Saul Gallery, NYC.
Untitled (rings), 1985
Silver gelatin photographic print, 44 x 36 1/4 in.
Courtesy Lieberman and Saul Gallery, NYC.
Diane Blell
Detail from “The Selling of Cupids (Cupids)”, 1985
Cibachrome print, 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.
Courtesy Leo Castelli Gallery, New York.
Christian Boltanski
Untitled (Les Compositions Photographique), 1977
Color photograph, 39 x 39 in.
Courtesy Sonnabend Gallery, NYC.
Ellen Brooks
Untitled, 1987
Cibachrome print, diameter 20 in.
Courtesy Annina Nosei Gallery. New York.
JoAnn Callis
Still life with Ice, 1981
20 x 24 in.
Still Life with Mortar and Pestle, 1983
Photograph, 20 x 24 in.
Still Life with Sushi, 1983
Photograph, 22 x 28 in.
Bruce Charlesworth
Untitled, 1985
Cibachrome print, 23 x 23 in.
Bernard Faucon
The Glass of Sweet Water, 1984
Freeson color photograph, 12 x 12 in.
Judy Fiskin
Some Aesthetic Decisions, 1984
Photographs, each 8 1/4 x 10 1/2 in.
Joan Fontcuberta
Guillumeta Polymorpha
Silver gelatin print, 11 x 14 in.
Courtesy Zabriskie Gallery, New York.
Himenea Flaccida
Silver gelatin print, 11 x 14 in.
Courtesy Zabriskie Gallery, New York.
Stephen Frailey
Untitled, 1985
C- print, 20 x 20 in.
Courtesy Bill Arning, NYC.
Untitled Still Life, 1986
C-print, 20 x 20 in.
Courtesy The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
Jan Groover
Untitled, 1987
Type “C” print, 18 1/2 x 14 1/4 in.
Courtesy Robert Miller Gallery, NYC.
Barbara Kasten
Construct 32, 1986
Cibachrome print, 40 x 30 in.
Courtesy John Weber Gallery, NYC.
Construct A +A, 1984.
Metaphase 5, 1986
Polaroid
Courtesy John Weber Gallery, NYC.
Pascal Kern
Fiction Coloree, 1987
Cibachrome, 32 x 41 in.
Courtesy Zabriskie Gallery, New York.
George Legrady
Winners 84, 1984
Hand tinted photo, 29 3/8 x 36 1/4 in.
Shredded Documents from Stock Footage, 1984
Hand tinted photo, 29 3/8 x 36 1/4 in.
Robert Levin
Untitled (limes), 1985
Cibachrome print, 16 x 20 in.
Courtesy Janet Borden, NYC.
Untitled (candlesticks), 1985
Cibachrome print, 16 x 20 in.
Courtesy Janet Borden, NYC.
Frank Majore
A Rose, 1981
Cibachrome, 15 x 12 in.
Courtesy Stephen Frailey, NYC.
Cocktails, 1983
Cibachrome print, 20 x 16 in.
Courtesy Holly Solomon Gallery, NYC.
Tim Maul
Untitled, 1986
C-print, 13 1/2 x 20 in.
Allen McCollum and Laurie Simmons
Actual Photos, 1985
Two cibachrome prints, each 15 3/4 x 12 1/4 in.
Courtesy Gallery Nature Morte, New York.
Robert Mapplethorpe
Flower (Orchid and Palmetto), 1982
Unique framed gelatin silver print, 30 x 30 in.
Courtesy Robert Miller Gallery, NYC.
Sheila Metzner
Gladiola with Apple, 1981
Color Fresson print.
Modern Vase Tulip, 1980
Photograph, 16 1/2 x 24 1/2 in.
Courtesy Bonnie Benruki Fine Arts, NYC.
Brian Oglesbee
Flower Arrangement, 1986
Ektacolor, 16 x 20 in.
Courtesy Lieberman and Saul Gallery, NYC.
Untitled, 1985
Photographic prints, 16 x 20 in.
Courtesy Lieberman and Saul Gallery, NYC.
Victor Schrager
Orange, Lemon, and a Pear, 1986
Three Ektacolor prints on Formica.
Untitled, 1987
Photographs on Formica, 64 x 46 in.
Courtesy artist and Leslie Tonkonon, N.Y.
Elliot Schwartz
T.E., 1983
Silver gelatin print.
Tolerance, 1982
Photograph, 30 x 60 in.
Andres Serrano
Fallen Christ, 1986
Cibachrome, 20 x 24 in.
Courtesy Stux Gallery.
Piss Elegance, 1987
Cibachrome, 20 x 24 in.
Courtesy Stux Gallery.
Anne Turyn
5.7.1937, 1986
Ektacolor print, 11 x 14 in.
5.8.1945, 1986
Ektacolor print, 20 x 24 in.
Courtesy artist and Benrabi Fine Arts, N.Y.
Boyd Webb
Humboldt, 1981
Color photograph, mounted, 27 x 40 in.
Courtesy Sonna bend Gallery, New York.
James Welling
C-47, 1981
Silver gelatin print.
Collection of Patrick Owens, New York.
Neil Winokur
Clara The Dog’s Porcupine, 1986
Cibachrome print, 20 x 16 in.
Courtesy Janet Borden, N.Y.
Cindy Sherman’s Wig, 1986
Cibachrome print, 20 x 16 in.
Courtesy Barbara Toll Fine Arts, N.Y.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Review: “Landscapes translate to black ad white” David McCracken, Chicago Tribune, November 27, 1987, section 7, p. 68.
EXHIBITION SUPPORT
A Visible Order is supported by the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Art and Design’s College of Architecture, Art and Urban Planning.
This exhibition is also funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.