Poets & Other Figures. This exhibition will consist of nearly twenty paintings and works on paper focusing on Woelffer's use of totemic imagery throughout his career.
Poets & Other Figures
Manny Silverman Gallery is pleased to present Emerson Woelffer, Poets and
Other Figures from November 1 through December 19, 2003. This exhibition
will consist of nearly twenty paintings and works on paper focusing on
Woelffer's use of totemic imagery throughout his career.
Like many modernists, Woelffer (1914-2003) was inspired by the tribal art he
encountered in the early part of his career. Those influences are clearly
articulated in his work of the late 1940s. As his work progressed through
the years and with the influence of his travels in Europe, Woelffer began
reducing the shapes and forms in his work. The imagery of works in the
1970s reflects a push toward more minimal compositions and we see a body of
work emerge with very simple, elegant and expressive gestures. The
development of this part of Woelffer's vocabulary will be explored in this
exhibition with works on paper, canvas and sculpture.
Concurrent with this exhibition, Woelffer's work will be the subject of the
inaugural exhibition at CalArt's REDCAT gallery in downtown Los Angeles.
Titled Emerson Woelffer: A Solo Flight, the exhibition was curated by artist
and former student of Woelffer, Ed Ruscha. It will include over fifty
works in various media spanning the artist's career and will be accompanied
by a 70 page color catalogue with an essay by noted art historian Gerald
Nordland.
Woelffer died February 2 of this year. He left behind a vast body of work
that will benefit the Emerson Woelffer Scholarship Fund, at Otis College of
Art and Design in Los Angeles, where Woelffer taught for the majority of his
career. A memorial celebration of Woelffer's life and art is planned for
Saturday, December 6th, 2003, to be held in the REDCAT theater facility.
This exhibition is part of the gallery's ongoing commitment to showing
abstract American art of the post-war period. For more information please
contact Linda Hooper, Director at 310 659 8256. Gallery hours are Tuesday -
Saturday, 10 - 5.
Reception: Saturday, November 1, 6-9pm
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm
Image: Emerson Woelffer, 'Sun Poet,' 1974
acrylic on canvas, 83 3/4 x 60 1/4 inches
Manny Silverman Gallery
619 N. Almont Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 659-8256, fax (310) 659-1001