Stalke Out Of Space # 38

Five Amarican in Borup:

Dove bradshaw. William Anastasi. Michael Coughlan, William Anthony, Lawrence Anastasi

Place Skovbo Kunstforening, Borup

21.9.to 30.10.2008

Press Release

5 American Artists in Borup

Skovbo Art Association presents five prominent American artists at the next exhibition in the Town Hall in Borup. Three of the artists were recently featured in the exhibition "ONE MORE" at Esbjerg Art Museum.

William Anastasi
"Fold a piece of paper five times, place it in your pocket, take a small pointed pencil and start drawing on one side without thinking about whether it turns out pretty, just scratch away." This is how William Anastasi performed his so-called Pocket Drawings in the mid-60s. His paper works reflect his continuous and multifaceted exploration of drawing as both a physical presence and a transfer of real-time energy onto the paper's surface. William Anastasi is a pioneer in minimalist art and conceptual art and is regarded by many as one of the most significant artists in the global art scene from the beginning of the 60s to today.

William Anthony
Since the mid-60s, William Anthony's bizarre line drawings have achieved cult status among prominent figures like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. (According to Warhol, Anthony's illustration of the Bible was the only Warhol could understand.) His satirical depictions of human fragility, war, mythology from the Wild West, and humorous "copies" of modernist masterpieces use all sorts of material from the visual culture's mainstream, both exaggerated and understated, with an unmistakable surreal charm. The iconography allows it to shine through that it is pop but also sub-pop. Pop culture's subconscious. A machine that distorts and displaces. His icons are not spiritual guides. They lead to existential wilderness, where laughter is perceived as the only pure salvation after God has abandoned the planet.

Dove Bradshaw
Dove Bradshaw contributes with a series of photogravures of selected works from the last 10 years, focusing on the theme "Time of Change." Dove Bradshaw, who recently curated the memorial exhibition In Memoriam of Sol Lewitt “One More” at Esbjerg Art Museum, has previously collaborated with William and Lawrence Anastasi, Robert Ryman, Sol Lewitt, Carl Andre, among others. The exhibition was rooted in Minimal Art and Concept Art, two of the most significant artistic movements in American art.

Michael Coughlan
Coughlan's work uses the codes of modernist art, with particular emphasis on surrealism and 1960s conceptual art. His latest works also incorporate aspects of his surroundings in Los Angeles, abandoned environments, and the unique characteristics of light and its scattering effect. He uses conventions from the aforementioned movements and strategies from pop culture's repertoire. Something that can lend a helping hand and yet filters through an aesthetic idiom, creating works that are both humorous and melancholic. Coughlan's works develop from simple drawings on paper into pastels and finally into paintings.

Lawrence Anastasi
Lawrence Anastasi contributes drawings that could carry the title "What is more important: Life or Art?" A fundamental question. He focuses on the theme in-depth. Lawrence Anastasi participated in 2009 in a major presentation of his works at Stalke Gallery and took part in "ONE MORE" at Thomas Rehbein's gallery in Cologne.

The exhibition is organized in collaboration with Stalke Gallery, and at the opening on Sunday, September 21, gallery owner Sam Jedig will present the artists and their works. The exhibition can be viewed until October 30.