The Visionary Art of Morris Graves
Date: Mar 20 - May 15,2010
Reception date: Mar 20 - May 15,2010
Curated by Peter Selz
Saturday March 20th, 4:00 - 7:00 PM
Opening reception with a conversation between Peter Selz and Lawrence Fong on Morris Graves
Listen to a recording of the conversation
Meridian Gallery's The Visionary Art of Morris Graves offers the largest exhibition of work by the major American painter Morris Graves in recent memory. Curated by eminent art historian Peter Selz, the exhibition, which marks Graves' 100th birthday, focuses on the mythic motifs and symbolism that runs throughout his long career.
Morris Graves (1910 - 2001) was a largely self-taught artist closely associated with the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. His paintings, often small works on paper, were among the earliest to synthesize Eastern aesthetics and philosophy with the American Transcendental tradition. In his own words, Graves was working "to evolve a changing language of symbols, a language with which to remark upon the qualities of our mysterious capacities which direct us toward ultimate reality."
The subject of influential international exhibitions in the mid-twentieth century, and a standout in the Guggenheim Museum's recent Third Mind exhibition, Morris Graves is a major voice in American Art and The Visionary Art of Morris Graves seeks to introduce a new generation of artists, scholars, and art going public to this seminal artist's work.
A friend and artist of great significance to John Cage and Merce Cunningham, Meridian will be contextualizing Morris Graves and his work within a series of related music, poetry, and dance events.
A few works will be for sale but most of the 50 works in the show will be on loan from the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, the Morris Graves Foundation, and the Hearst Gallery at St. Mary's College. Other important pieces will be drawn from the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts and from private collections.
The Visionary Art of Morris Graves is co-sponsored by Meridian and the Lucid Art Foundation, and made possible by the generous support of Theres and Dennis Rohan, Sue Kubly, Harold and Arlene Schnitzer, Andrea Turman, and Robert and Desireé Yarber of the Morris Graves Foundation.
The opening reception is generously sponsored by McEvoy Ranch.
Press and Reviews:
The Visionary Art of Morris Graves at Meridian Gallery
Concerts
resonant world: an afternoon of music by John Cage
resonant world: an afternoon of music by John Cage for the exhibit The Visionary Work of Morris Graves featuring the Cornelius Cardew Choir, Three Trapped Tigers, and Phillip Greenlief, Jon Raskin and Steve Adams
Other events
Deeper Than Sleep
A reading of Jack Spicer's poetry about and related to the work of Morris Graves by Kevin Killian.
In Space with Birds
Dancers Tessa Wills, Sarah Sass and others present work in an evening of performance in response to the paintings of Morris Graves. Includes a post-show Q&A presented with the performers, organized by Lindsay Stegeman-Levesque and Michelle K. Lynch.
