John Baldessari e Meg Cranston
dal 17/1/2013 al 9/3/2013
Segnalato da
17/1/2013
John Baldessari e Meg Cranston
Michael Janssen Singapore, Singapore
Keep it Simple. Keep it Fresh. The paintings on view are the result of a collaboration between the two artists and consist of a text by Baldessari, handwritten on a colored canvas supplied by Cranston.
Michael Janssen Singapore is pleased to announce the exhibition Keep it Simple. Keep
it Fresh. with a series of new works by American artists Meg Cranston and John
Baldessari.
The paintings on view are the result of a collaboration between the two artists and
consist of a text by Baldessari, handwritten on a colored canvas supplied by
Cranston. The text chosen by Baldessari is an excerpt from one of his writings
entitled Advice to Young Artists and states: "Whatever you decide to do, remember to
keep it simple, keep it fresh, and have some idea of what you are going to do."
"I wrote the text in 1968 but I think it still holds true today. It has always been
a touchstone for me - to keep it simple but with luck, of course, to create some
profundity too. I stand by the text. It still seems like a good idea", says
Baldessari.
Cranston determined the colors for the series drawing on her most recent work that
reinvigorates color theory and investigates the business of color forecasting. She
borrowed the colors determined by the Pantone Corporation for the spring-summer 2013
fashion and home design industry. "I have always been interested in why some colors
seem to dominate at certain times.
I have learned that the reason is that they are
largely programmed - determined, if you will, by organized forces, namely the
Pantone Corporation. Pantone releases a color forecast every season that most
manufacturers follow to determine the colors of their products. I used the same
colors because I wanted the paintings to be realistic - to reflect current
conditions", says Cranston.
Collaboration itself is a way for the two artists to achieve new solutions. For the
exhibition they allowed the planes of text and color to work simultaneously in order
to achieve a new and unanticipated resonance and profundity. The idea behind it was
to use a 40-year-old text and update it by blending it within the context of color
trends.
"John and I are similar in the sense that we both like to work from a
simple, almost neutral plan in the hopes of generating unexpected results. We both
like to find ways to get beyond our own preferences and tastes so that we can
generate something that we cannot anticipate. Paradoxically, for both of us, the
lesson seems to be - the more neutral the plan the more surprising the result",
Cranston explains.
In her practice Cranston investigates the intersections between individual and
shared experience and how imagery and objects acquire meaning in our culture. While
oftentimes taking personal attributes or historical events as a jumping-off point,
her work is ultimately concerned with the formal language of art and the role the
artist plays in helping us see the world in new ways.
Since the 1960's, the works of Baldessari have developed into one of the most
pioneering oeuvres of contemporary art. By means of productive gaps between image
and word, he focuses on the relationship between language and power. Visual jokes
and plays on words are the means by which he disrupts the strict classification of
sense and nonsense and sets in motion processes of critical thought with regard to
society.
Meg Cranston: *1960 in Baldwin, NY. Lives and works in Venice, CA.
Selected exhibitions: 2012: Made in L.A. (group). 2011: Municipal Art Gallery, Los
Angeles (group). 2010: Gallery Brandstrup Oslo, Norway (group). 2009: Aachener
Kunstverein, Aachen, Germany (solo). 2008: Getty Museum of Art, Los Angeles (group);
Kuenstlerverein Malkasten, Duesseldorf, Germany (group). 2007: Artspace, Auckland,
New Zealand (solo).
John Baldessari: *1931 in National City, CA. Lives and works in Santa Monica, CA.
Solo Exhibitions (selection): 2011: Australian Museum, Sydney and Stedelijk Museum
Amsterdam. 2010: Fondazione Prada. Milan; Gemini G.E.L. Los Angeles, CA. 2009: Tate
Modern, London, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Los Angeles County Museum of
Art, Los Angeles, CA and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Fine Arts Museums
of San Francisco; Museum Haus Lange. Krefeld, Germany (solo).
For further information please contact: Fabio Pink, f.pink@galeriemichaeljanssen.de
Tel: +49 (0)30 259 272 50, Fax: +49 (0)30 259 272 518
Opening: Friday, January 18, 7 p.m.
Michael Janssen Singapore
Gillman Barracks, 9 Lock Road, Singapore
Opening hours:
Tue to Sat 12pm-7pm
Sun 12pm-6pm
Closed on Mondays & Public holidays
Free Admission