Its Time To Stick Together

60 Years of Collage in America

– Curated by Peter Hastings Falk –

August 10th – September 7th, 2020

Robert Berry Gallery is pleased to announce It’s Time to Stick Together: 60 years of American Collage curated by American art expert Peter Hastings Falk, the Editor and Chief Curator of the online art magazine, Discoveries in American Art.  The collective show featuring over 20 artists opens on August 10th, 2020.

“There is something for everyone in It’s Time to Stick Together: 60 Years of Collage in America, an extraordinary collection of colorful, unique and thought-provoking collage works by diverse American artists,” stated Peter Hastings Falk, curator. “Collage is a medium that has always tended to defy being pigeon-holed, because the process of making collage encourages a greater amount of experimentation in construction than does the fear of a blank white canvas. Abstract Expressionism is a seminal force that drives many of these images, but so is Figurative Expressionism, Pop, Surrealism, Outsider, and recent developments in Contemporary expression. Clippings from magazines have traditionally been the most common elements of collage, but many other pieces of popular culture have also been utilized in innovative ways — such as fabrics, photographs, newspaper, commercial packaging, and a variety of found objects.”

It’s Time to Stick Together: 60 years of Collage in America will feature fresh works by artists Rex Ashlock, Sophie Aston, Harry Bertschmann, Beverly Brodsky, Gaby Collins-Fernandez, Wayne Ensrud, Soloman Ethe, William O. Fredericksen, Eugene Healy, Bud Holman, Leo Jensen, Tom McNease, Geoffrey Moss, Fuller Potter, Erika Ranee, Taney Roniger, Reid Stowe, Edward J. Welch, and Don ZanFagna. The show represents a cross-section of artists in terms of diversity, age, geographical region and style.

We are proud to offer these one-of-a-kind collage works, curated by the legendary American art expert Peter Falk. Falk has prepared a truly incredible show of collage artworks that are both beautiful and meaningful. A thought-provoking collage, or series of collages, is the perfect way to brighten up a home or office environment. The collage process questions and challenges the notion of surface, creates three-dimensionality into a flat plane and creates something that other mediums cannot.

The word “collage” derives from the French word coller, meaning “to glue” or “stick together.” Collages call to mind the vibrant works by Cubist painters Picasso and Braque in the early 20^th century, where the two artists added new elements—such as wood-grain wallpaper, sheet music, and snippets of faces and bodies—to one picture. The result was a unique pastiche of color, texture and meaning. Collage is one of the most underrepresented genres in the art market today.

“Collage is a process that invites composition with different materials and textures in contrast to the consistent fluidity of paint out of the tube,” stated Mr. Falk. “The artists featured in this show have incredibly layered and rich stories. Geoffrey Moss’s work has always been abstract, but here his collages are Pop expressions of sardonic wit. Sophie Aston’s collages are surreal in style, but extracted from pop culture. Leo Jensen is vintage Pop, while Harry Bertschmann, Beverly Brodsky, and Bud Holman are second-generation Abstract Expressionists who have been prolific since the 1960s. Erika Ranee’s approach to abstraction has been prompted by her research of postcards from the 1930s and 1940s that show the most egregious images of black stereotypes. Her works, like others in this exhibition, may appear to be paintings but are generously layered with cut and torn paper or fabric.  Viewers will learn the compelling back stories of these artists, most of whom express their motivations in their own words. This exhibition offers unique works by distinguished artists you won’t find anywhere else.”

Works Available

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