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Indepth Arts News:
"the americans. new art. - Opens Today"
2001-10-25 until 2001-12-23
Barbican Art Gallery
London, ,
UK United Kingdom
the americans. new art. is the largest
exhibition of contemporary American art to
have been seen in London for a generation.
The last five years has been a period of
explosive activity in the American art world,
and this show contains thirty of the most
important artists to have emerged in this
time. The exhibition includes celebrated
figures such as Tom Friedman, Sarah Sze
and Martin Kersels, whose work has been
seen around the world. But it also includes
many young artists who are just starting to
establish their international reputations, such
as Ricci Albenda, Rachel Feinstein and Erik
Parker.
Recent years have seen a renewed interest
in the hand-made among American artists,
and the show contains a large proportion of
painting and sculpture. However, these
supposedly traditional media are often
approached in surprising ways – one
instance is Rob Pruitt, whose recent works
include paintings of pandas made from
glitter. Whether in old or new media, all of the
works in the exhibition emphasise the
personal and the obsessive – the show
includes a sculpture by Keith Edmier, for
instance, which shows the artist’s mother
carrying Edmier in her womb. This new wave
of artists is turning away from irony and
shock and making art that is both playful and
complex.
the americans. new art. has been
organised by Barbican Art. The exhibition is
accompanied by a book with texts by Bruce
Hainley, Katy Siegel, Bennett Simpson, John
Slyce and the exhibition’s curator, Mark
Sladen (paperback, full colour, 304pp,
published by Booth-Clibborn Editions /
Barbican Art, price £30).
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