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H.C. Westermann
H.C. Westermann is the first posthumous retrospective of American sculptor H.C.
Westermann and will present a comprehensive survey of the artist's innovative
sculptural work from the early 1950s through 1981, the year of his death.
The exhibition features approximately 100 sculptures and 20 works on paper
and incorporates works never seen before in public, including 11 of the
artist's sketchbooks and several works made as gifts for family and friends.
H.C. Westermann is on view through September 8, 2002.at The Museum
of Contemporary Art (MOCA) at The Geffen Contemporary (152 North Central
Avenue in downtown Los Angeles).
H.C. Westermann is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (MCA),
and co-curated by MCA curator Lynne Warren and MCA assistant curator Michael
Rooks. The exhibition traces the artist's nearly thirty-year career encompassing
sculptures that combine assemblage and traditional construction techniques
used in carpentry and woodworking, often confronting the social and political
realities of the era. MOCA's presentation is coordinated by MOCA curatorial
assistant Julia Langlotz. (left: Death Ship of No Port, 1957,
pine, bronze, metal wire, fabric, and paint, Collection of Museum of Contemporary
Art, Chicago)
"It is especially meaningful that Westermann's posthumous
retrospective will travel to his hometown, Los Angeles, a place forever
inhabited by his imagination. It was here that the notion of integrity was
instilled in him, and where he later encountered a younger generation of
like-minded artists such as Ed Ruscha, Ken Price, and Billy Al Bengston,"
said Michael Rooks.
MOCA's installation is specially designed by Los Angeles-based
artist Billy Al Bengston, who emerged as a leading figure in the 1960s L.A.
art scene, and was a friend and longtime admirer of Westermann. Bengston
has worked on the cutting edge of experimental painting over the last four
decades. Both reflecting nature and challenging ideas of perception, his
work is always adventuresome. The installation pairs Westermann's accomplished,
imaginative sculptures and drawings with Bengston's sensitive and inventive
treatment of light, color, and space.
"H.C. was a dazzling original
who impacted, influenced, and kept us enthralled and on our toes awaiting
anything--sculpture, painting, drawing, letters, etc. Everything Cliff did
was absolutely distinctive," said Billy Al Bengston.
Westermann's sculptures, made of materials such as plywood,
galvanized metal, linoleum, and rare woods combine the unexpected juxtaposition
of surrealism, expressionism and pop art, with a craft approach that he
had developed as a carpenter. He often used humor to depict anxieties and
powerlessness through visual combinations of contradictory characteristics
and verbal and visual puns. (left: Swingin' Red King and Silver
Queen, 1960-61, mixed media, Private collection, London)
The exhibition will feature a number of Westermann's tableaux
contained in glass vitrines, full-size figurative sculptures, machine/tool
inventions, boxes, and several haunting Death Ships which comprise
a recurring motif throughout Westermann's career. Included will be his 1972
work 30 Dust Pans, first shown at Allan Frumkin Gallery, Chicago,
the elements of which have been reunited for the exhibition.
Prior to MOCA's presentation, the exhibition was on view
at the MCA, Chicago, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington,
D.C. Following Los Angeles, the exhibition will travel to the Menil Collection,
Houston (October 4, 2002 - January 5, 2003).
H.C. Westermann is accompanied
by two volumes published by Harry N. Abrams. The 212-page exhibition catalogue
features essays by the exhibition co-curators Rooks and Warren as well as
art historian Dennis Adrian and Museum of Modern Art senior curator Robert
Storr. It features an extensive plate selection, illustrated chronology
of the artist's life, exhibition checklist, lists of solo and group exhibitions,
and complete bibliography. The 398-page catalogue raisonné, which
subsumes the exhibition catalogue, documents for the first time all of the
artist's known three-dimensional works. All major entries in the catalogue
raisonné includes a discussion of the work, provenance, inscriptions,
exhibition history, bibliography, and is accompanied by photographs.
About the artist
H.C. Westermann was born in Los Angeles, California, on
December 11, 1922. He worked in logging camps as a rail worker in the Pacific
Northwest and at the outbreak of WWII joined the U.S. Marine Corps serving
as a gunner on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise. After touring
the Far East as an acrobat with the United States Organization (USO), he
enrolled in The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 1947.
In 1950, Westermann re-enlisted in the Marines for service
in the Korean War. After his discharge, he returned to SAIC and completed
his studies in fine art. The psychological effects of his experiences during
WWII, and later in Korea, became an underlying theme in his work, particularly
in his Death Ships. In November 1968, the Los Angeles County Museum
of Art organized his first retrospective exhibition, and the Whitney Museum
of American Art organized his last retrospective in May 1978.
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