Maxwell Davidson Gallery : Exhibits : Tom Wesselmann

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE & LISTING

November 10, 2007 - January 12, 2008
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 10, 4:30 - 7:30 p.m.

New York, NY, October 17, 2007 - The Maxwell Davidson Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of works by Tom Wesselmann entitled Drop-Out. This will be the first time this body of work, which includes paintings, works on paper and steel cutouts, has been exhibited together, and many of the works are shown here for the first time. All works come directly from the Estate of Tom Wesselmann.

Drop-Out and its accompanying catalogue is organized in conjunction with Yvon Lambert, New York, who will exhibit 11 large scale shaped canvases at 550 West 21st street. These paintings are also shown together for the first time ever and will be exhibited concurrently with Maxwell Davidson Gallery from December 1 - January 12, 2008.

Tom Wesselmann came to prominence in the 1960s during the Pop movement. Using the nude as his major subject matter, Wesselmann quickly ascended to fame, popularity and notoriety with his Great American Nudes, which depict faceless, naked women with enhanced erogenous zones. By the 1970s, Wesselmann was recognized as a major force among American painters. This decade produced a confident and vivacious body of work that included large-scale sculptural still lifes, lips with cigarettes and wafting smoke and, of course, more nudes, now sometimes with features filled in.

In the 1980s, Wesselmann became increasingly inventive, willing to experiment further than ever before with his shaped canvases. He began a signature body of work that focused for the first time on negative space. His shaped canvases became more complex in form, forcing the viewer's eye to visually define objects where Wesselmann had scooped out spatial references. With the Drop-Out series, Wesselmann allowed less to be more. By leaving large body parts unpainted or simply void of surface, Wesselmann created a truly unique approach to picture making while staying true to his aesthetic.

A full-color catalogue with a text by John Wilmerding will accompany this exhibition. The text is an excerpt from Mr. Wilmerding's upcoming book on Tom Wesselmann published by Rizzoli. John Wilmerding is Sarofim Professor in American Art at Princeton University.

For further information, please contact Tara Marino at info@davidsongallery.com.