Men in LA: Three Generations of Drawings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Men in LA: Three Generations of Drawings

Naotaka Hiro, Benjamin Weissman, Paul McCarthy
 

May 31–July 5, 2014

Opening reception Saturday May 31, 6–9 PM

Three men all living and working in Los Angeles, all making obsessive amounts of drawings. In the Studio, at the mountain cabin, at the dinner table. The drawings take over, the drawings provide space for thought, they provide inspiration for new work, they are the new work. Men in LA: Three Generations of Drawings will bring together the drawings of Naotaka Hiro, Benjamin Weissman and Paul McCarthy. As is expected, each artist has a unique vision yet this exhibition will also be showcasing similarities, such as interest in the human form and the human psyche. We will bring in a collection of drawings from each artist, collecting together approximately 100 drawings each. 

Naotaka Hiro, the youngest of the bunch, has come into drawing as part of his practice just in the last couple of years and it’s been a great revelation for him. In the past, Hiro has used small paintings on canvas to explore film narratives or future projects, but started making drawings in part for practical reasons (he could make more for less money and he could make drawings while traveling, for example). Drawing has now become an active part of his process, serving both as a way to discover new ideas and as a fluid work on their own. This is the second exhibition at The Box to include Hiro's work. The first included both solo projects and a collaborative work with Sid M. Duenas (May 2008-June 2008).   

Benjamin Weissman is part of a generation of artists, including Mike Kelley and Raymond Pettibon, who integrate both literary and visual elements into their practice. Weissman is well known for his writing, including two books of short fiction, Dear Dead Person and Headless. Drawing and painting have become an increasingly prominent part of his practice during the last decade. Often collaborating with other artists—including Yutaka Sone, Jim Shaw, and Paul McCarthy—to explore shared preoccupations, he has also developed an extensive body of solo works. His drawings dwell on imagery associated with maleness, gathered from sources such as family snapshots, newspapers, magazines and special-interest websites. Scabrous and comical, Weissman’s drawings are roiling satires of the psychosexual landscape. This show marks the first exhibition of his work at The Box.

And finally Paul McCarthy, the eldest of the three, has always made drawings. Drawing serves as a way for McCarthy to develop larger projects, such as video installations and sculptures. But drawings also serve as a catharsis, drawing whenever paper and pencil are handy, (as part of his explanatory process and at the dinner table, for example). Like both Hiro and Weissman, McCarthy has created a tremendous amount drawings however McCarthy’s are quite varied in medium and style; incorporating many materials and varying sizes of paper, allowing the form and function to shift depending on the use. Using them to create text/lists, to explore personal situations, to better describe something in a conversation, as well as to develop art works that he is currently working on. There is often exploration into his personal psyche, allowing the drawings to process day to day events as well as digging past memories as they develop or regress into different narratives.  McCarthy was part of Paintings (December 2012-Feburary 2013), a group exhibitionat The Box as well as showing a collaborative project with his son Damon McCarthy, Rebel Dabble Babble (May 2012-July 2012).    

This exhibition will also include collaborative drawings that Weissman and McCarthy did as part of an exhibition Quilting Sessions at the Zacheta National Gallery of Art in Poland, 2009. We will also be showing a collection of drawings made especially for this exhibition, that are drawings made collectively by Hiro, Weissman and McCarthy. One of these pieces will be printed as the poster that will only be available at the gallery. Please see website for more information, including complete Bios and CVS. 

If you have any questions please contact:

Mara McCarthy, Principal/Curator of The Box at info@theboxla.com / 213 625 1747 â€¨