Robert Kushner's Scriptorium: Devout Exercises of the HeartThe Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, La Jolla, CA
On view June 23 through July 28, 2012
Opening Reception on Friday, June 22, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
The Athenaeum is pleased to present an exhibition by Robert Kushner. Scriptorium will consist of hundreds of small drawings and paintings executed directly on pages of old books and manuscript. They will be exhibited pinned to the wall with simple dressmaker's pins. The arrangement is variable as to dimensions and number of images. The pages have been removed from discarded and damaged books from America, England, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Russia, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Tibet and Japan. They date from ca. 1500–1920.
"I would like to think that these superimposed flowers in Scriptorium bring the pages back to life, make us wonder who owned and read these books, and through their foxing, notations and even burned areas, allow us to ponder their varied histories." —Robert Kushner, New York
"Robert Kushner is arguably the most significant decorative artist working today…Kushner's art goes against the prevailing trend toward the antior nonaesthetic, which takes revenge on life. He chooses instead to affirm the wonder of existence."—Donald Kuspit, Artforum, 2007
Robert Kushner's works are in the permanent collections of museums around the world: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Whitney Museum of American Art; The National Gallery of Art; The Corcoran Gallery of Art; Tate Gallery, London; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu; The Denver Art Museum; Galleria degli Ufizzi, Florence; J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles; Museum Ludwig, St. Petersburg; and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Please join us Friday, June 22, 6:30–8:30 p.m. for a reception celebrating Kushner's work. Multiple facets of the Athenaeum come together in this exhibition of art and books. Scriptorium: Devout Exercises of the Heart will be on view until July 28.
