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April Issue 2008
Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston,
SC, Features Works by John Baeder
Pleasant Journeys and Good Eats Along the Way: A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings by John Baeder, the first major traveling exhibition solely devoted to the work of this important contemporary realist remains on view through Apr. 27, 2008, at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC.
Organized by the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, GA, the exhibition includes forty paintings by the artist known as one of America's preeminent realist painters. Baeder's painstakingly rendered oils and watercolors, spanning the period 1974 - 2004, document the roadside eateries he reveres - diners, taco trucks, and barbecue dives. Baeder's approach to these classically American subjects emphasizes the architectural details, color, and signage that capture the pulse of America in a bygone era.
"We are pleased to share this exhibition
that celebrates an icon that is familiar to every American - the
roadside diner," says Todd D. Smith, Gibbes Museum of Art
Executive Director.
One of America's most-admired Photorealists, Baeder was born in
South Bend, IN, in 1938 and shortly afterward, moved with his
family to Atlanta, GA, where he was raised. He attended Auburn
University before embarking on a career in advertising in 1960.
He pursued a successful career as an art director for ad agencies,
in Atlanta and New York City until the early 1970s. During
his years in New York, Baeder kept his technique sharp by drawing,
painting, and taking photographs, while his day job as an art
director kept him focused on American material culture. He also
began to collect old postcards of roadside America whose images
were grounded in early modern realist photography and early color
lithography. They helped inspire him to make the transition
from the world of advertising to the world of art.
In 1974, Ivan Karp began exhibiting Baeder's paintings at his well-known SoHo gallery OK Harris Works of Art in New York. Since then Baeder's work has been the subject of more than thirty solo exhibitions, and it has been included in more than 150 group shows. Baeder's paintings can be found in the permanent collections of many noteworthy American museums, including those of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Norton Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the High Museum of Art, as well as corporate and private collections in Europe and the United States.
The author of three popular books: Diners (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1978 and 1995), Gas, Food, and Lodging (New York: Abbeville Press, 1986), and Sign Language: Street Signs as Folk Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996), Baeder continues to live and work in Nashville, TN, his home since 1981.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully color-illustrated book, Pleasant Journeys and Good Eats Along the Way: The Paintings of John Baeder, co-published by the Morris Museum of Art and the University Press of Mississippi.
Established as the Carolina Art Association
in 1858 (celebrating 150 years in 2008), the Gibbes Museum of
Art opened its doors to the public in 1905. Located in Charleston's
historic district, the Gibbes houses a premier collection of over
10,000 works, principally American with a Charleston or Southern
connection and presents special exhibitions throughout the year.
In addition, the museum offers an extensive complement of public
programming and educational outreach initiatives. As the
aesthetic heart of the Lowcountry, the Gibbes serves the community
by stimulating creative expression, increasing economic vitality
through tourism, and improving the region's superb quality of
life.
For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery
listings, call the Museum at 843/722-2706 or visit (www.gibbesmuesum.org).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2008 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2008 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.