Ken Price : A Survey of Sculptures and Drawings, 1959 – 2006 will present over 180 sculptures and works on paper across both gallery spaces, spanning a period of 40 years. Despite having a major retrospective at LACMA in 2012/3, this will be the first exhibition of Ken Price’s work in London since 1976.
McLean, 2004 Fired and painted clay 49.5 x 58.4 x 48.3 cm / 19 1/2 x 23 x 19 in © Estate of Ken Price
Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery Photo: Fredrik Nilsen
Price worked amongst a group of innovative artists who emerged from the creative landscape in postwar Los Angeles in the 1950s, spearheading a shift in the traditional concept of ceramics from functional medium to art object. Price took inspiration from many sources including the Bauhaus, Japanese ceramics, traditional Southwestern pottery and counter cultures of the 1960s. He created his own original techniques mastering the use of clay, glazes, colouring and form and developed a unique contemporary language revelling in psychedelic colour, biomorphic form and erotic innuendo. The drawings and paintings on paper echo Price’s sculptures and everyday life of Los Angeles and New Mexico where he enjoyed much of his life.
Hauser & Wirth London 9th December 2016 – 4th February 2017 Opening: Thursday 8th December, 6 – 8 pm More Info: www.hauserwirth.com
About the artist
Ken Price was born in Los Angeles CA in 1935 and died in 2012 in Taos, New Mexico. He had his rst solo exhibition at Ferus Gallery, Los Angeles CA in 1960, and his work was included in the 1979 and 1981 Whitney Biennials in New York. The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis MN and the Menil Collection, Houston TX mounted his rst retrospective exhibition in 1992. In 2012, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presented the major exhibition ‘Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective’, which travelled to the Nasher Sculpture Centre, Dallas TX, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY. A survey exhibition of Price’s works on paper was organised in 2013 by the Drawing Center, New York NY and travelled to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo NY and the Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, New Mexico. A comprehensive bibliography on Ken Price is included in LACMA’s catalogue ‘Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective’ (2012).
