OPENING RECEPTION: 1ST THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2011, FROM 5 - 8PM
In anticipation of PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, an initiative funded by the Getty Foundation that will endeavor to explore and chronicle the birth of post-war to contemporary Los Angeles art, Sullivan Goss – An American Gallery presents LA’s RISEN, a sweeping exhibition that historicizes significant Los Angeles art from 1940 through to the 1980s. Inspired by Lyn Kienholz’s substantial new book, LA RISING—which provides images and review quotations for around 475 Los Angeles artists from before 1980—this exhibition showcases the development of modern and contemporary art in Southern Californian by major Los Angeles artists, from Anders Aldrin to Milford Zornes.
To celebrate the exciting enterprises initiated by the Getty’s PACIFIC STANDARD TIME project as well as the recent publication of Lynn Kienholz’ new book, Sullivan Goss will present LA’s RISEN, an overview of the gallery’s long-standing commitment to the art of that time and place and to the artists that have shaped both the scene and the conversation in one of the new global art centers. No longer in the shadows, Los Angeles art thrives due to the exceptional artists of Los Angeles, who overcame their remote position from traditional art centers and a reputation for provincialism. Sullivan Goss has exhibited or represented more than one seventh of the roughly 500 artists featured in Kienholz’s book. Over the last ten years, the gallery has mounted 29 solo shows for the artists found in LA RISING, created 16 original publications, and has assembled 7 themed shows which dealt primarily or exclusively with Los Angeles art from 1940-1980.
Southern California has always been a place for innovation. Yet the bright lights of Hollywood have often obscured the full range of the region’s artistic output. Now, more than a decade into the 21st century, art historians are turning their gaze back to the mid 20th to establish the significant role that Los Angeles artists played in the rise of modernism.
Currently on view at Sullivan Goss are more than 25 works by some of the key players in the L.A. art world from 1940 to the 1980s. Another 16 works will arrive at the gallery in early September.
