Artists Mark Bradford and Aminah Robinson in Conversation

As a prelude to the forthcoming exhibition of the work of Mark Bradford, the Wexner Center presents A Conversation with Mark Bradford and Aminah Robinson on Monday, May 3 at 7 pm in Mershon Auditorium. During this free public event, moderated by Wexner Center Director Sherri Geldin, the two internationally known artists will trade viewpoints on found materials, abstract and representational imagery, and the role and potential of community connections in their work and life as artists. The event is presented just days before the opening of the exhibition Mark Bradford (on view at the Wexner Center May 8–August 15, 2010).

The event will also be streamed live at www.wexarts.org/live.

Mark Bradford’s work draws both inspiration and raw material from the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles where he spent most of his childhood and currently maintains his studio. Best known for large-scale abstract paintings made from a variety of collaged materials, Bradford not only extends the possibilities of contemporary painting but also offers an unusual and highly individual examination of the economies (often defined by race, gender, and class) that structure urban society in the United States, and specifically in Leimert Park. Selected for a 2009 MacArthur Foundation “genius” award, Bradford has been featured in such exhibitions the 2006 Whitney Biennial, and the New Museum’s inaugural exhibition Unmonumental and its current show, Skin Fruit—but the upcoming exhibition at the Wexner Center marks the first museum survey of his work. Organized by Wexner Center curator Christopher Bedford, the show features more than 50 works in a variety of media spanning the years 2000–2010, including new works created under the auspices of a Wexner Center Residency Award in Visual Arts. Following its presentation in Columbus, the show will travel to four major venues in the U.S. More information on the exhibition is at http://www.wexarts.org/info/press/bradford/ and at www.pinocchioisonfire.org

Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson (b. 1940) is as connected to her hometown of Columbus and the Near East Side neighborhood where she grew up and lives as Mark Bradford is to Los Angeles and Leimert Park. Exploring both the personal histories of her family and neighbors, and the lives of African- Americans throughout history, she uses fabric, paint, and other mixed media to create mixed-media “RagGonNons” (works that “go on and on”), paintings, drawings, sculptures, and books. Robinson received a 2004 MacArthur Foundation “genius” award and was the first African American to have her work presented at the National Museum in Santiago, Chile (a solo show organized by the Ohio Arts Council in 2004). Her work is in the permanent collections of many institutions, including the Columbus Museum of Art, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Tacoma Art Museum, and the Columbus Metropolitan Library (main branch, downtown). Her work was also featured in the 1992 Wexner Center exhibition Will/Power, More information on Robinson is at http://www.aminahsworld.org/

EVENT SUPPORT

Outreach and engagement activities for this event presented with support from the Shumate Family Endowment.

Major support for the Wexner Center’s 2009–10 education season is generously provided by Battelle.

All education programs and events also receive support from the Corporate Annual Fund of the Wexner Center Foundation and Wexner Center members, as well as from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, The Columbus Foundation, Nationwide Foundation, and the Ohio Arts Council.

Mark Bradford exhibition presented with major support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Resource Interactive. Significant contributions provided by The Broad Art Foundation, the Nimoy Foundation, Nancy and Dave Gill, and Toby Devan Lewis.