WHEN: September 27 - December 13, 2014
ARTIST/CURATOR TALK: Thursday, September 25, 6pm
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, September 27, 6-8pm
WHERE: Exhibition & Opening:
516 ARTS, 516 Central Ave. SW, Downtown Albuquerque • Open Tue - Sat, 12-5pm
Artist/Curator Talk: Floyd D. Tunson & Blake Milteer
Central New Mexico Community College
Smith-Brasher Hall, Room 100, 717 University SE (near Coal & University)
HOW MUCH: Free
INFO: 505-242-1445, www.516arts.org
PHOTOS & INTERVIEWS: Suzanne Sbarge, 505-242-1445, suzanne@516arts.org
516 ARTS announces Floyd D. Tunson: SON OF POP, a solo exhibition of Colorado-based, African American artist Floyd D. Tunson, who for over four decades has been among the most highly regarded and influential artists in the Rocky Mountain region. He has achieved a rich and diverse body of work that includes painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and mixed media. The exhibition features various series through which Tunson has addressed concepts of cultural identity, American social history, race and class relations in the United States and abroad, pop culture, art history and the beauty of pure abstraction.
This survey of Tunson's work "offers an explosion of ideas and emotions, unhindered by any single stylistic mode... His practice is informed by not only mid-century Pop luminaries but also by later strains of political artmaking." (Artforum) "Tunson uses photo-based methods to explore racism and the damage it has done to the African-American community... An enormous and sweeping exhibition, Son of Pop highlights Tunson's relentless visual intelligence and thoughtful political views." (art ltd.)
Over his career, Tunson has earned a reputation as one of the region's leading art teachers while simultaneously creating his own work and exhibiting nationally. Tunson's art is included in the collections of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, the Denver Art Museum, the Kaiser-Permanente Corporation, the Walter O. Evans Collection of African-American Art, and many private collections nationwide.
This exhibition is organized by the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and curated by Blake Milteer. It will occupy both floors of 516 ARTS and have an accompanying full-color catalogue published by the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center with an essay by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa.
In addition to the opening reception at 516 ARTS on Saturday September 27, 6-8pm, the public is invited to a special talk with artist Floyd D. Tunson and Curator Blake Milteer, which will take place on Thursday, September 25, 6pm in the auditorium at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) in Smith-Brasher Hall, Room 100.