Two exhibitions
dal 17/1/2007 al 23/2/2007
Segnalato da
17/1/2007
Two exhibitions
Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco
Crumb got his start in the underground comics scene of the late 1960s capturing and developing aspects of the counter culture through the creations of Fritz the Cat, Zap Comix etc. Crafted with formal perfection, a pretense of seriousness, and gentle sympathy, Wessel's photographs illuminate and freeze a glimpse of American life.
Robert Crumb: Drawings + Henry Wessel: Early photos
Opening January 18th and running through February 24th, the Rena Bransten Gallery
(77 Geary Street at Grant, San Francisco, CA 94108) will exhibit drawings by R.
Crumb and a selection of early photographs by Henry Wessel. An exhibition of R.
Crumb's early solo work, collaborations and the world premier of "spool drawings"
will follow with R. Crumb's Underground at the Yerba Buena Center, March 17 - July
1, 2007. Henry Wessel will have a retrospective exhibition at the San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art January 27 - April 22, 2007.
Robert Crumb (b. 1943) got his start in the underground comics scene of the late
1960s and early 1970s capturing and developing aspects of the counter culture
through the now iconic creations of Fritz the Cat, Zap Comix, Mr Natural, Devil
Girl and the Keep on Truckin' Guys. He first sold Zap comics on the streets of San
Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood through his own distribution system,
maintaining complete artistic freedom as he chronicled perverse depictions of sex,
drugs and fantasy often through a personal lens of his own experiences. R. Crumb's
often autobiographical, psychologically revealing renderings have became emblematic
of the 1960s and his distinctive pen-and-ink style has proven an enduring influence
on graphic art and design ever since.
"...Through the years, I've continued to educate myself and draw from life." - R.
Crumb, interview 2005. This exhibition will feature R. Crumb's "place mat drawings,"
1999 - 2004 portrait sketches of cafe' denizens and characters from Crumb's past,
made while musing in bars and restaurants from home in Sauve, France.
For over thirty years Henry Wessel (b. 1942) has lived, worked and taught in the San
Francisco Bay Area. He started experimenting with photography in the early 60's
while still a student at Pennsylvania State University. By 1968, Wessel was taking
photographs while traveling the country. A 1971 grant from John Simon Guggenheim
Memorial Foundation to document the "U.S. highways and the adjacent landscape"
focused Wessel's subject matter on man made environments, sometimes populated, and
sometimes not. What might be ordinary moments and places (almost empty deserts,
fatigued split level houses, cinderblock motels, people caught in personal reverie,
parking lots, odd shaped bushes and trees) become exceptional from Wessel's vantage.
Crafted with formal perfection, a pretense of seriousness, and gentle sympathy,
Wessel's photographs illuminate and freeze a glimpse of American life.
Reception: Thursday, January 18, 5:30 - 7:30pm
Rena Bransten Gallery
77 Geary Street - San Francisco