By Nina Anthony, Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The Harwood Museum of Art is offering free admission to the public this Saturday for the opening of ¡Orale! Kings and Queens of Cool, a four-part exhibition focusing on the Lowbrow art movement rooted in the West Coast surfer/street culture and the contemporary expressions of the genre from Hispano, Lowrider and street/grafitti cultures of northern New Mexico.
Over 150 works — from pinstriping, tattoo and graffiti art to a small sampling of original rock poster art — by approximately 70 artists, will showcase the transformation of what once was dismissed by museums, art critics and mainstream galleries as “low art” to a legitimate Pop Surrealism art movement that is no longer excluded to exhibitions at alternative, underground venues.
Each of the four changing exhibitions on display at the Harwood Musuem of Art over a four month-period between September 20 – January 25, 2015, will focus on a different aspect of this genre:
LOWBROW INSURGENCE: THE RISE OF POST-POP ART
Gallery: Mandelman-Ribak Gallery
NUEVO LOWBROW: POP CULTURE IN THE WEST
Gallery: Peter & Madeleine Martin Gallery
PINSTRIPE MADERA: PINSTRIPING AS MINIMALISM
Gallery: Caroline Lee and Bob Ellis Gallery
EL TATUAJE: THE TATTOO IN UNDERGROUND CULTURE
Gallery: George E. Foster, Jr. Gallery of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
The Harwood Museum of Art is located at 238 Ledoux Street, Taos, NM 87571 | 575 758-9826 Hours: Monday Saturday 10 am-5 pm | Sunday: Noon-5 pm | Closed Monday November – March
Don’t Miss the After Party on Ledoux Street!
¡Orale! Ledoux Street Block Party
Saturday, September 20, 2014, 4 – 9 pm
After the show, stroll along Ledoux Street and admire classic cars that will be lining the street while enjoying a free concert from Big Swing Theory, a Glam Trash fashion show and an art talk about the Lowbrow Art movement by West Coast collector Billy Shire at 7 p.m.
Related Exhibition: Pop-Surrealism at Greg Moon Art
New Mexi-Low: A Survey of Lowbrow Art in New Mexico
September 20 – October 31, 2014
Opening Reception: September 27, 2014 5-7 p.m.
Taos artist Greg Moon, one of the curators of the ¡Orale! The Kings and Queens of Cool exhibition, will be hosting a show of his own in conjunction with the Harwood exhibit. New Mexi-Low will feature works from many of the artists in the ¡Orale! exhibition, which will be available for sale.
Greg refers to the artists in the show as the “Derelict Dozen” and they include: Dennis Larkins, Conrad Cooper, Bradley Sleep, Holly Wood, Joel Nakamura, Rebecca Aubin, Jeffrey Brown, Brandon Maldonado, Leah Saulnier, and Scripture…plus resident degradent Greg Moon.
Greg Moon Art is located at 109A Kit Carson Road in Taos, NM.
For more information about the exhibition, visit the Greg Moon Art website or call 575-770-4463.
