Wallace Berman Solo Exhibition in New York City

Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of
*Wallace Berman* (1926-1976) running from November 6 to January 9,
2010. An opening reception will be held on Friday, November 6th from
6:00-8:00 pm, featuring a screening of Berman's collage-film /Aleph/
(1956-1966) with a reading by Tosh Berman and a live performance by John
Zorn of his score for the film.

Building on the gallery's longstanding involvement with artists of the
California counterculture, this exhibition presents a rare opportunity
to consider the scope of Berman's practice. Considered by many to be a
major figure of the assemblage movement, Berman was active within the
Los Angeles and San Francisco Beat communities and acted as a mentor and
spiritual advisor to many artists. Anticipating mail art and Fluxus
movements, Berman's work has had wide-ranging influence despite the
artist's determination to operate outside of the public eye.

Through sculpture, collage and the underground publication /Semina/,
Berman fused aspects of photography, film and print. Central to
Berman's multifaceted practice is the Verifax collage, an early
photocopier technology. Berman manipulated ephemeral compositions
directly on the copier plate, creating prints that are in fact unique
originals. A magazine advertisement of a hand holding a small 1963 Sony
transistor radio recurs throughout in these works; in place of the
radio's rectangular speaker, Berman inserts collage elements such as a
cross, a snake, and a Buddha, transforming the repeated image in a
quasi-magical operation. Also on view in the exhibition are a rock
assemblage, photographic collages, and hand-printed posters, giving a
sense of the breadth and complexity of Berman's visionary oeuvre.

The project room features a restored version of /*Aleph*/ both in its
original silent form and with a new score by John Zorn, courtesy of the
National Film Preservation Foundation with the assistance of Anthology
Film Archives and the Film-makers' Cooperative.

Wallace Berman was recently the subject of a retrospective exhibition
/All is Personal: the Art of Wallace Berman/, Camden Art Center, London,
UK (2008). This is his third exhibition in New York; his first was at
Charles Cowles, 1982, followed by Louver Gallery, 1990.


Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery
526 W. 26th Street, No. 213
New York, NY 10001
gallery@nicoleklagsbrun.com
P. 212.243.3335
F. 212.243.1059
nicoleklagsbrun.com