Ron Nagle: Peripheral Cognition / San Diego Museum of Art
November 1, 2014 – February 17, 2015
Nagle is an internationally acclaimed ceramicist and sculptor. Influenced and inspired by fearless pioneers such as Peter Voulkos and Ken Price, he is considered among the foremost Abstract Expressionist ceramicists. Also known for his career as a singer/songwriter, Nagle’s work was among the highlights of The New Museum’s artistic director, Massimiliano Gioni’s exhibition at the 2013 Venice Biennale.
In San Diego, curated by Ariel Plotek, Associate Curator of Modern Art, Nagle’s ceramic works will be displayed in long cases alongside a selection of preparatory sketches. Featuring notable works such as Lobster Boy and Car Bomb, the exhibition showcases 19 ceramic sculptures and 11 drawings. The show’s title Peripheral Cognition calls attention to “peripheral points of departure,” or the stream of conscious state of mind that comes while creating.
With an architect’s attention to detail and a graffiti artist’s irreverence, Nagle has been forming small objects mostly out of clay for the past 50 years. Although relatively small in size, his ceramic sculptures are big on beauty. Initially referencing ceramic vessels, his work has evolved to forms that are less referential to pottery yet still maintain certain ceramic elements. With a quintessentially Californian aesthetic, Nagle’s signature style is funky yet unfailingly sophisticated. Each form Nagle shapes acquires multiple meanings, wrapped in a riddle of puns and allusions often referenced in their titles.
“Ron Nagle was inventing Post-Modernism years before it became fashionable. He was part of the California revolution in American pottery that took place in the 1960s,” says Roxana Velásquez, Maruja Baldwin Executive Director at The San Diego Museum of Art. “We’re honored to host the artist’s first major solo museum exhibition. With the addition of Ron Nagle: Peripheral Cognition, we’re able to further showcase the Museum’s interest in contemporary art.”
Funding for the presentation of the exhibition, Ron Nagle: Peripheral Cognition, in San Diego, has been provided by RBC Wealth Management, The San Diego Museum of Art’s Contemporary Arts Committee, the Members of The San Diego Museum of Art, and the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program. Institutional support for the Museum is provided by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
Museum hours: Monday through Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday, 10am – 5pm; Sunday, 12pm – 5pm.
Contact
T: 619 232 7931
The San Diego Museum of Art
1450 El Prado
Balboa Park, San Diego, CA
United States
Above: Ron Nagle, Centaur of Attention, 2014. Mixed media, 5.5 x 6 x 3.5 in. / 14 x 15 x 9 cm. From the Collection of Ron Nagle. © 2014 Ron Nagle. Photography by Don Tuttle.
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