Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Kansas City, MO
816-753-5784
http://www.kemperart.org/
Donald Sultan: In the Still-Life Tradition
The exhibition Donald Sultan: In
the Still-Life Tradition focuses on the artist's untraditional approach
to the traditional theme of still-life painting. Through December .3, 2000,
the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art will feature 20 of Sultan's massive
eight-foot-square paintings of vases, oranges, lemons, buttons, and his
latest works of red tomatoes; The Kemper Museum's painting Spike Acanthe,
July 5, 1993 also is included.
Donald
Sultan's extensive body of work has placed him at the forefront of contemporary
art.where he has become best known for his ability to successfully merge
and ancient and ongoing artistic tradition, in this case still-life painting,
with a modern approach. The monumentality of Sultan's compositions -- huge,
often colorful images of fruit, flowers, dominoes, and other everyday objects
set against a stark, black background -- demand attention. (left:
Nine and Eleven, August 16, 1995, tar, oil and plaster on
lineoleum over Masonite, 96 x 96 inches, Private collection, Photo: Zindman/Fremont)
In these ambitious works, Sultan experiments with paint,
tar, plaster, and Masonite, achieving unusual effects with the combination.
Instead of canvas, Sultan works on Masonite covered with 12-inch vinyl floor
tiles. Sultan cuts the shapes he desires into the vinyl, fills in the cutout
space with plaster or tar, and then paints over it.
Born
in 1951 in Asheville, NC, Sultan received his B.F.A. from the University
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and his M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL. Sultan, a painter,
printmaker, and sculptor, has had numerous solo and group exhibitions. His
works are in the collections of many prestigious institutions, including
the Museum of Modern Art, NY, The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, NY, and the Dallas
Museum of Art, TX. (left: Black Egg and Tomatoes,
August 4, 1998, tar, oil and plaster on lineoleum over Masonite,
96 x 96 inches, Courtesy of Knoedler & Company, NY, Photo: John Black)
A 72-page catalogue features color plates of the exhibition's
20 paintings and includes essays by author Steven Henry Madoff and playwright,
screenwriter, and film director David Mamet.
After closing December 3 at the Kemper Museum, the exhibition
will be on view at the Polk Museum
of Art, Lakeland, FL (March 31-June 3, 2001) and at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ (June
28-September 9, 2001).
Donald
Sultan: In the Still-Life Tradition was organized
by the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art,
Memphis, TN, and curated by Dana Holland-Beickert. This exhibition is circulated
by Pamela Auchincloss, Arts Management. Funding for the national tour and
catalogue is provided by FedEx. The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art acknowledges
the generous support of Bank of America for the 2000 Artists-in-Residence
program. Financial assistance has been provided by the Francis Families
Foundation; the Arvin Gottlieb Charitable Foundation, UMB Bank, Trustee;
the Hallmark Corporate Foundation; The Kansas City Star; the Muriel McBrien
Kauffman Foundation; the David Woods Kemper Memorial Foundation; KXTR-FM;
and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. Midwest Express Airlines
provides travel for research and the Museum's visiting artists. Additional
support has been provided by vital corporate, foundation, and individual
contributions. (left: Four Buttons, July 29, 1995,
tar, oil and plaster on lineoleum over Masonite, 96 x 96 inches, Private
collection, Photo: Zindman/Fremont)
Read more about the Kemper
Museum of Contemporary Art in Resource
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Donald
Sultan's extensive body of work has placed him at the forefront of contemporary
art.where he has become best known for his ability to successfully merge
and ancient and ongoing artistic tradition, in this case still-life painting,
with a modern approach. The monumentality of Sultan's compositions -- huge,
often colorful images of fruit, flowers, dominoes, and other everyday objects
set against a stark, black background -- demand attention. (left:
Nine and Eleven, August 16, 1995, tar, oil and plaster on
lineoleum over Masonite, 96 x 96 inches, Private collection, Photo: Zindman/Fremont)
