Austin Museum of Art
Austin, TX
512.495.9224 Downtown - 512.458-8191 Laguna Gloria
http://www.amoa.org/
Bernard Maisner: Entrance to the Scriptorium
/ Contemporary Illuminated Manuscripts and Paintings
February 12 - April 30, 2000
"Bernard Maisner:
Entrance to the Scriptorium / Contemporary Illuminated Manuscripts and Paintings"
presents 25 years of work by New York artist Bernard Maisner. An innovative
and singular figure in contemporary art, Maisner has developed a complex
iconography of ancient and contemporary symbols and techniques in his meticulously
crafted illuminated paintings. Like Blake and Heraclitus, whose writings
he weaves into his compositions, Maisner seeks to uncover the originating
principle of systems. In 55 drawings, paintings, illuminated pages, and
books, this exhibition examines what art historian Dore Ashton has called
Maisner's "love of riddles, of all that is cryptic, that has kindled
the spirit of inquiry felt throughout his work." (left: The
one who loves... (Henry Miller), 1982, egg tempera, gold leaf, shell
gold, ink, paper, 3 1/8 x 3 11/16 inches)
From his earliest days as an artist, Maisner
studied original medieval texts at the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York,
and the Bibliothéque National in Paris. He spent years acquiring
the medieval techniques of gold leaf, calligraphy, and interlace, incorporating
the manuscripts' seamless integration of script and image into his own work.
Although Maisner is scrupulous in maintaining the authenticity of these
techniques, he combines them in contemporary, unexpected ways: Using calligraphy,
the artist integrates writings by such diverse modem authors as Franz Kafka,
Anaïs Nin, and Henry Miller into his works. His applications of gold
leaf, woven through luminous layers of collage and glazes, can be read as
contemporary abstractions, or depictions of symbols from Eastern metaphysical
thought. Maisner's formative influences are diverse. He has studied biology
and subatomic physics, and is fascinated by Rorschach signs, rebuses, and
the early Renaissance works of Flemish painter Rogier van der Weyden. (left:
Moment of Flight, 1987, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, gold leaf
and sand on stretched paper, 36 x 24 inches)
In recent years, Maisner has moved from miniatures
to large-scale paintings, freeing the artist from the rigorous control of
the miniaturist's grid, and allowing him to experiment with rich, allusive
juxtapositions of forms and images. Several critics have noted the dreamlike
quality of these recent compositions and their resemblance to that anticipatory
moment that precedes creative thought. (left: Yes, 1989, oil,
ink, mulberry paper, and damar on canvas, 60 x 60 inches)
This exhibition is curated by Terrence E. Dempsey, SJ,
and organized by the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, Saint Louis University,
St. Louis, Missouri. It is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue
with an essay by the renowned art historian Dore Ashton. The catalogue is
available in the Museum Store.
Read more in Resource
Library Magazine about Austin
Museum of Art.
Be sure to visit more of Resource Library Magazine
with museum exhibition news, stories
on American art, calendars, and more. Here are links to selected sections
of the magazine:
- Feature articles indexed by date of publication,
from 1997 to the present
- Articles concerning art museums, indexed
by institution name in alphabetical order
- Articles concerning non-profit art organizations
other than museums, indexed by name of organization in alphabetical order
- Feature articles indexed by subject
and media - over three dozen mini-magazines
- Sources of articles indexed
by state within the United States
- Calendar of art museum exhibitions, current
and future years
- Milestones, including appointments,
new buildings, etc.
- Appraisals, authentication, conservation
and artist identification for original art and reproductions
- Columnists: Ann
Avery Andres, Sarah Beserra,
Roger Dunbier and
Ann Erskine
- Art sellers' showcase and sponsorships
- Books, magazines, videos and more
- Cameos of historic American art collections
- Distinguished artists, including
an alphabetical index of over 2,500 deceased American artists
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Copyright 1996-2001 Traditional Fine Art
Online, Inc. All rights reserved.
"Bernard Maisner:
Entrance to the Scriptorium / Contemporary Illuminated Manuscripts and Paintings"
presents 25 years of work by New York artist Bernard Maisner. An innovative
and singular figure in contemporary art, Maisner has developed a complex
iconography of ancient and contemporary symbols and techniques in his meticulously
crafted illuminated paintings. Like Blake and Heraclitus, whose writings
he weaves into his compositions, Maisner seeks to uncover the originating
principle of systems. In 55 drawings, paintings, illuminated pages, and
books, this exhibition examines what art historian Dore Ashton has called
Maisner's "love of riddles, of all that is cryptic, that has kindled
the spirit of inquiry felt throughout his work." (left: The
one who loves... (Henry Miller), 1982, egg tempera, gold leaf, shell
gold, ink, paper, 3 1/8 x 3 11/16 inches)
