August Issue 2000
Weatherspoon Art Gallery in Greensboro, NC, Adds to Its Collection
The Weatherspoon Art Gallery at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, is presenting an exhibition of the 17 works of contemporary art donated by California software entrepreneur Peter Norton and his wife Eileen. The exhibit will be on view through Aug. 20.
"The Norton gift, received this spring,
consists of conceptually-based works that investigate painting
issues and concerns, though not always through materials that
are traditional to painting," said Nancy Doll, Weatherspoon
Director. " For example, two works by Michael Gonzalez are
composed of the red, yellow and blue dots cut from Wonder Bread
hot dog wrappers 'sandwiched' between acrylic sheets. Another
is a large wall composition by Kent Young made of a variety of
variously colored fabrics. Other characteristics of the group
are a postmodern referencing of other artistic styles and periods,
such as Pop and Minimalism, the incorporation of text and the
assertion of the painting as an object in and of itself without
being representational or referential," Doll said.
Several artists, while still young, have fairly established reputations
and a number are represented by well-known galleries in New York
and Los Angeles. Among the better-known artists are Sue Williams,
whose work has been included in the last three Whitney Biennial
exhibitions, and Christian Schumann, who is represented in the
Whitney's collection. Schumann was also one of critic Jerry Saltz's
picks of "10 Artists for the '90s." Lawrence Carroll,
Michael Gonzalez and Terry Allen are all well-known on the West
Coast.
"The group fills a gap for us in terms of conceptually-based
paintings and painting-based works from the late 1980s and first
half of the 1990s," Doll said. " This was a time when
the viability of painting was again being questioned but also
a time when a number of artists persisted in exploring the possibilities
of painting. The acknowledgement of the Nortons with this gift
reinforces the Weatherspoon's reputation for collecting and exhibiting
interesting and sometimes challenging contemporary art."
The Weatherspoon was among the 29 art museums from across the United States to receive some of the nearly 1,000 artworks the Nortons donated from their extensive collection of modern art. In announcing the gifts, the Nortons said they donated the works in the hope of " strengthening the presence of contemporary art and disseminating its adventuresome spirit throughout the United States."
Other recipients were The Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Tate Gallery in London. Most of the gifts were donated to college and university art galleries and to institutions outside the biggest cities, bringing the work of challenging younger artists to the attention of a broader public and building the collections of the most active and vibrant of America's smaller museums.
For further information check our NC Institutional
Gallery listings or call the Gallery at 336/334-5770.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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