JOE BRAINARD
(1942-1994)

September 9 - October 10, 2009

IndentAdam Baumgold Gallery presents the exhibition Joe Brainard from September 9 through October 10, 2009. Joe Brainard was one of the most gifted collage and mixed media artists in the second half of the 20th century. This exhibition of over 40 works will focus on his collage, mixed media works and drawings from the 1970's - a period of intense artistic activity for Brainard which ended with his decision to stop exhibiting his work publicly after 1979. The works from this decade derive from pop culture, mass media, advertising and art related sources in an affectionate manner, devoid of the sense of detachment or cool of the pop artists. "Joe Brainard 1942-1994) was a word-and-image man the way other people are song-and-dance men or women. In his art, language and pictures flowed together effortlessly, almost musically.1" These works are seamlessly drawn and assembled, with a touch so light as to completely disarm.

IndenFeatured in the exhibition is Untitled (Miniature series), 1975, (36" x 42"), in which 109 dazzling mini collages, drawings and assemblages, each approximately 2 inches square each, are lined up in rows on shelves. In this work, Brainard celebrates pop images and objects he admired with the ostensible reverence of "...the King of Hearts or Superman slipping on a banana peel, an ashtray and a package of Tareytons, a slice of pineapple with maraschino cherry, or some other motif as recognizable as the nose on one's face, if not more so.2"

IndenJoe Bainard's Untitled (Madonna), 1969, is a look at religiosity and pop culture mixed in a funny, absurd, adroit way. Untitled (Easel), 1975, is a painting within a cartoon within a painting- a parody of abstract expressionism, comical yet open ended. The cutout canvas leaves the ultimate content of the work up to viewer whom Brainard actively addresses.

Inden"Like Ray Johnson, another master collagist, Brainard is one of those great nonaligned artists who now seem to fit in everywhere. His love of intimate scale and pop culture ephemera (no one did more with matchbooks); his penchant for captions and punch lines; his forthright joy in being gay; his inability to adhere to a single style or medium (to make "Brainards" as he put it)-- these characteristics link him to a host of contemporary artists, among them Jim Hodges, Robert Mele, Raymond Pettibon, Karen Kilimnik. His own influences include Kurt Schwitters, Arthur Dove, Joseph Cornell and Max Ernst, and also Edouard Vuillard.3"

IndenJoe Brainard's works are in the permanent collections of The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Museum of Modern Art, NY, as well as many others. A retrospective of his work was held at The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum, The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, NY, in 2001-2002. There was also a retrospective of Brainard's work at Tibor de Nagy Gallery, NY, in 1997.

IndenThe gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11:00-5:30 P.M. For additional information, please contact Adam Baumgold at (212)861-7338 or at abaumgold@aol.com.

1. Roberta Smith, The New York Times review of Joe Brainard Retrospective at P.S. 1, November 9, 2001.
2. Carter Ratcliff, "Joe Brainard's Quiet Dazzle," in Joe Brainard a Retrospective (catalog), p.53.
3. Roberta Smith, The New York Times review of Joe Brainard Retrospective at P.S. 1, November 9, 2001.

Untitled (Miniature series), 1975, detail
Mixed media collage
36" x 42"

Untitled (Miniature series), 1975, detail
Mixed media collage
36" x 42"

Untitled (Miniature series), 1975, detail
Mixed media collage
36" x 42"

Untitled (Miniature series), 1975, detail
Mixed media collage
36" x 42"

Untitled (Miniature series), 1975, detail
Mixed media collage
36" x 42"

Untitled (Miniature series), 1975, detail
Mixed media collage
36" x 42"

Untitled (Miniature series), 1975, detail
Mixed media collage
36" x 42"

Untitled (jewels), 1972
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (sweets), 1972
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (sardines), 1975
Gouache on paper
7" x 5"

Untitled (tree), 195
Gouache on found image
7" x 5"

Untitled (flower), 1972
Watercolor on paper
7" x 5"

Untitled (knight), 1975
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (moon), 1975
Gouache on paper
7" x 5"

Untitled (monthly averages), 1975
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (ftd), 1975
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (Velasquez), 1975
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (help!), 1975
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (ace), 1975
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (bread wing), 1975
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (the truth only knows), 1975
Mixed media collage
7" x 5"

Untitled (sigh), 1976
Colored pencil and gouache on paper with box
2 3/8" x 2 1/8"

Untitled (wafer), 1976
Colored pencil and gouache on paper with box
2 3/8" x 2 1/8"