Jack Pierson
02 Dec 2006 - 03 Mar 2007
Jack Pierson - The Golden Hour
2 December 2006–3 March 2007
Opening: Friday, 1 December 2006, 18.00–20.00 hrs.
Our exhibition “Jack Pierson — The Golden Hour” presents one of the most influential American artists of the middle generation for the first time in Berlin in a solo show. This is Pierson’s seventh exhibition in our gallery (formerly located in Cologne), and the focus is on major early works from the years 1984–1994.
Jack Pierson was born in 1960 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. After completing his studies in Boston, in the 1980s he was constantly on the move between New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Paris, before settling in New York in the early 1990s. With his photographic works from this early period, atmospheric images of a restless existence between metropolises, and his distinctive “Wordpieces”, Pierson soon became well-known, and in 1992 our gallery presented his work in Europe for the first time.
The exhibition takes its title from a photographic work of 1994, “The Golden Hour”, which describes the moment of sunset, a magical crépuscule that was often used in Hollywood films of the period, bathing them in a warm light. Pierson’s film of 24 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which are blank, without names, tells a story of glorification and its dark side. This work is a representative example of the themes of nostalgia, loneliness, fame, and “the romantic presence of the vast expanse that is America”, which are pivotal in Pierson’s oeuvre. Thus Pierson stands in the same tradition as artists and writers such as Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, Edward Hopper, Robert Frank, and Andy Warhol.
Apparently there is an autobiographical component that runs through Pierson’s work until the present day: the gesamtkunstwerk form, which consists of installations, painting, drawing, photography, film, and his famous “Wordpieces”. Exhibitions designed by Pierson tell a story that is full of emotion and vulnerability. This sets Pierson apart from so-called pop culture and the superficiality of many of his contemporaries.
Many of Pierson’s works appear somewhat trivial at first sight: this is deceptive, for the observer is quickly drawn into an intimacy with Pierson’s scenarios and with the figure of the artist himself. His early works are like a diary of a road movie; his assemblages of found objects appear rough and random, characteristic of the life of a wanderer who is constantly travelling, a seeker caught between sadness, loneliness, and the longing for beauty.
There will be a publication to accompany the exhibition.
The exhibition will open on Friday, 1 December 2006, 18.00–20.00 hrs. and Jack Pierson will be present. We are pleased to announce that, immediately after the opening of our exhibition on December 1st, the exhibition “Tom Burr — Jack Pierson” will open in Galerie Neu, Philippstrasse 13 in Berlin-Mitte, and both artists will be present.
2 December 2006–3 March 2007
Opening: Friday, 1 December 2006, 18.00–20.00 hrs.
Our exhibition “Jack Pierson — The Golden Hour” presents one of the most influential American artists of the middle generation for the first time in Berlin in a solo show. This is Pierson’s seventh exhibition in our gallery (formerly located in Cologne), and the focus is on major early works from the years 1984–1994.
Jack Pierson was born in 1960 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. After completing his studies in Boston, in the 1980s he was constantly on the move between New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Paris, before settling in New York in the early 1990s. With his photographic works from this early period, atmospheric images of a restless existence between metropolises, and his distinctive “Wordpieces”, Pierson soon became well-known, and in 1992 our gallery presented his work in Europe for the first time.
The exhibition takes its title from a photographic work of 1994, “The Golden Hour”, which describes the moment of sunset, a magical crépuscule that was often used in Hollywood films of the period, bathing them in a warm light. Pierson’s film of 24 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which are blank, without names, tells a story of glorification and its dark side. This work is a representative example of the themes of nostalgia, loneliness, fame, and “the romantic presence of the vast expanse that is America”, which are pivotal in Pierson’s oeuvre. Thus Pierson stands in the same tradition as artists and writers such as Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, Edward Hopper, Robert Frank, and Andy Warhol.
Apparently there is an autobiographical component that runs through Pierson’s work until the present day: the gesamtkunstwerk form, which consists of installations, painting, drawing, photography, film, and his famous “Wordpieces”. Exhibitions designed by Pierson tell a story that is full of emotion and vulnerability. This sets Pierson apart from so-called pop culture and the superficiality of many of his contemporaries.
Many of Pierson’s works appear somewhat trivial at first sight: this is deceptive, for the observer is quickly drawn into an intimacy with Pierson’s scenarios and with the figure of the artist himself. His early works are like a diary of a road movie; his assemblages of found objects appear rough and random, characteristic of the life of a wanderer who is constantly travelling, a seeker caught between sadness, loneliness, and the longing for beauty.
There will be a publication to accompany the exhibition.
The exhibition will open on Friday, 1 December 2006, 18.00–20.00 hrs. and Jack Pierson will be present. We are pleased to announce that, immediately after the opening of our exhibition on December 1st, the exhibition “Tom Burr — Jack Pierson” will open in Galerie Neu, Philippstrasse 13 in Berlin-Mitte, and both artists will be present.