8html On April 4th, American artist Larry Pittman's first museum solo exhibition in Asia, "Magic Realism", opened at the Long Museum (West Bund).
The exhibition is curated by Rochelle Steiner and presents more than 30 paintings created by the artist in the past 12 years, focusing on the artist's continuous exploration of themes related to modern life.
Long Museum Director Wang Wei said: "Larry Pittman is famous for his iconic visual language. He is good at depicting fantastic contemporary urban landscapes and nature through his rich imagination and ultimate painting skills. "
Wang Wei said frankly that when she walked into the exhibition hall alone when no one was around, she felt an imaginative world unfolding before her eyes. "The boundaries between magic and reality gradually blurred, and tall buildings and buildings that only appeared in dreams Curiosities are coming to you.”
Artist Larry Pittman, courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin.
Pittman was born in Los Angeles to an American father and a Colombian mother, and returned to Colombia in 1964. In Southern California, USA, 70html studied at the California Institute of the Arts in the 1940s. Since the 1980 years, Pittman has become a mainstay in the Los Angeles art scene. He also often travels to Mexico City to draw inspiration from the traditions, aesthetics and customs there.
While many artists of his generation are setting up studios and utilizing assistants, digital tools and other means of production, Pittman completes his creations alone with maximum practicality and efficiency. Despite the complexity of his imagery, he remained firmly committed to the pure tradition of painting. He does not sketch or use photoshop. each work is completed by drawing lines directly on the canvas and then coloring them.
Over the course of Pittman's decades-long career, he developed a unique visual language. His signature, densely layered painting style incorporates a comprehensive set of signs and symbolism, the interweaving of multiple painting techniques, and a unique Color combinations, and a nod to craftsmanship and decorative arts.
"Larry Pittman: Magical Realism" exhibition hall view, Long Museum (West Bund), Shanghai, 2024, Photography: shaunley
In this exhibition, six important series of works created between 2012 and 2023 are displayed together for the first time The exhibitions include "Thought Forms", "Nocturne", "Iridescent Eye Opening and Closing", "Perspective Miniature and the Void", "Bright: City and Egg Monument" and "Shining City and Egg Monument".
The "egg" visual theme that has appeared in Pittman's works since the mid-1980s will be spotted many times in this exhibition. The egg forms merge into nightscapes and cityscapes. Among them, selected works from Pittman's recent series "Bright: City and Egg Monument" and "Shining City and Egg Monument" were created during the global epidemic from 2020 to 2022, including many that highlight the artist's unique vision. Aesthetically large paintings, images intertwined with bright colors.
Larry Pittman, "Glittering City and Egg Monument", 2022, © the artist and Lehmann Maupin New York and Seoul
Larry Pittman, "Glittering City and Egg Monument #3", 2023, © Artist and Lehmann Maupin New York and Seoul spaces
“Larry Pittman’s work reflects the energy of a bygone era and a vision of the world to come,” said exhibition curator Steiner. “Through his unique use of color and form, he uses Complex images gave contemporary thought an orderly structure. Larry's work left an indelible mark on art history, inspiring many artists of his generation and younger generations."
The works in this exhibition also exemplify the conceptual strategy and rigor that underpin Pittman's entire creative process. In each work, he uses the title as a starting point and then draws out the visual structure—what he calls the work's " "Architecture". Pitman's surreal scenes reveal the urban character of urban landscapes and the unique mysteries of nature.
