|
Robert Weingarten: Palette Series July 15, 2006–October 1, 2006
|
|
Washington, DC — In his search for meaningful subject matter, Robert Weingarten has traveled widely and photographed in remote and unfamiliar parts of the world. Although he is best known as a landscape photographer, his diverse portfolio is unified by his continuous fascination with the effect of light on color. Now, in a new series of large-scale photographs, Weingarten turns his attention to the color palettes of some of the most celebrated artists working today, such as Chuck Close, Eric Fischl, Jasper Johns, Laura Owens, and Ed Ruscha. Made with the scientific precision of high-resolution digital photography, these details of artists’ working environments and materials are printed very large—three feet by five feet—transforming the scale of the original scenes into one of chromatic and luminescent drama. Palette Series, which showcases 21 images, is on view at the Corcoran Gallery of Art from July 15 through October 1, 2006. Palette Series is a continuation of Weingarten’s ongoing exploration of light and color as seen in his 2003 6:30 AM Series. From his bedroom window in Malibu, California, Weingarten photographed the same view of the Pacific Ocean at 6:30 am almost every day for an entire year. “I realized that what I loved most was the changeability of what I was seeing,” says Weingarten. “Every morning is different; the atmospheric changes that occur day to day are what really grab me.” Weingarten produced a collection of photographs that expose nature’s infinite palette and powerful variability. Palette Series evolved directly from this investigation. “With Palettes, I started wondering how the light that painters work in informs their palette,” says Weingarten. “For example, will a Southern California painter, such as Ed Moses, have a brighter, more chromatically intense palette than an artist working in Manhattan?” In defining “color palettes,” Weingarten chose to use that term as broadly as possible. The resulting images comprise a series of photographs taken of anything that could represent an artist’s palette. These range from raw materials (such as Ed Rucscha’s cotton ball with pigment), drippings on a sink (in Ed Moses’ studio), random brush strokes and writing on a wall (in David Salle’s studio), an accumulation of paint stains on a table (in Red Grooms’ studio), floor drippings (as seen in the studio of Jim Dine) to artists’ actual palettes and paintings (as in the case of Jasper Johns, Chuck Close and Fernando Botero). “The images that make up Robert Weingarten’s Palette Series are both documentary details of something seen and lyrical abstractions of something felt,” says Philip Brookman, Chief Curator of Collections at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. “Weingarten performs an illusionist’s sleight-of-hand with these photographs. He works from the original light in the studio space, allowing the texture of the surfaces to be emphasized, excavating microcosmic landscapes of color from artists’ workspaces.” Over the course of producing this ambitious series, Weingarten came to the realization that there was no correlation between an artist’s palette and the light in which he or she works. The darkest palette was used by Ed Moses, who works outdoors in the full sunlight of Southern California. The lightest and most pastel-like palette was that of Richard Estes, who paints in New York City. ABOUT THE ARTIST For more than a decade, Weingarten’s photographs have been included in over 50 exhibitions worldwide. His work is included in the permanent collections of more than 20 museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the George Eastman House, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Previous projects include Earthscapes and Another America: The Amish. EXHIBITION SPONSORSHIP PRESS INQURIES ABOUT THE CORCORAN The Corcoran Gallery of Art is located at New York Avenue and 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC, and is open every day, except Monday and Tuesday, 10 am – 5 pm, and until 9 pm on Thursdays. The Corcoran is closed every Monday (except holidays) and Tuesday. Admission to the Corcoran is $8 for adults; $6 for Seniors and Military Personnel; $4 for students with valid ID; and $3 for Member guests. Admission is free for Members and children under the age of 12. The public information line for the museum is 202.639.1700. The information line for the college is 202.639.1800. :: View images and further details from this exhibition
|
CONTACT:
Media Resources:
|
