Lari Pittman

Lari George Pittman (born 1952 in Glendale, California)[1] is a Colombian-American contemporary artist and painter. Pittman is a Distinguished Professor of Painting and Drawing at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture.

Lari Pittman
Born1952
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCal Arts, UCLA
Notable work
Like You (1995), Fly Carpet with Magic Mirrors for a Distorted Nation (2013), Wholesomeness, Beloved and Despised, Continues Regardless (1989)
MovementContemporary art
Spouse(s)Roy Dowell
AwardsHonorary Doctorate Rhode Island School of Design, Skowhegan Medal Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Fellowship National Endowment for the Arts
Websitehttp://www.regenprojects.com/artists/lari-pittman

Early life

Pittman's American father met his Colombian mother while the former was working abroad in the latter's homeland.[2] At the age of five, Pittman's family moved back to Colombia, returning to California in 1963. In contrast to his childhood in Colombia, Pittman's experience in the United States keeps him alert to "the overwhelming hatred that is exhibited by the American population and through actual legislation against homosexuals.”[3][4]

Career

Pittman received his MFA from Cal Arts in 1976 studying with Elizabeth Murray, Vija Celmins, and Miriam Schapiro. Afterwards, Pittman began working in the interior design business with Angelo Donghia, where he worked with music and entertainment clientele.[5] During this time, Pittman began showing his work at Rosamund Felsen Gallery.[6] Pittman asserts, "One of my strongest memories from those years is of how patterning and color were so relentlessly gendered." He continues, "I’d show somebody a textile or something, and a common answer would be, no, that’s too feminine, or it’s too masculine.[7] Always within the framework of gender construction binaries."[8][5] In 1985, Pittman was shot at his Silver Lake apartment and recovered from gun shot wounds. This experience would forever impact his work and further his determination to paint large-scale.

In 1996 his work was the subject of a mid career survey at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.[9] Describing his work as "encumbered, tethered, tied-in, [and[ chaperoned,” Leah Olmen of ArtNews asserts Pittman's work is about "History and sexuality, memory and experience, philosophy and poetry, humor and rage share the stage in exquisite imbalance, the whole a manifesto against reductionism and an endorsement." Pittman is included in several esteemed art collections including the Eli and Edythe Broad collection at The Broad in Los Angeles, United States.[10]

In David Pagel's interview with Pittman, he concludes that Pittman's paintings include "imaginary organic forms, runaway arrows, and arabesques, transform ornamentation into a contemporary narrative of life and death, love and sex." He also believes "Pittman's operatic pictures propose that the world's complexity does not override passion, sincerity, and individuality."[11] When talking about his own work, Pittman states: "at times, I purposefully orchestrate the work so that you do have that comfortable laughter when looking at it—it's full-hearted and enjoyable internally—but it's also a laughter linked to nervousness. And that's the laughter I particularly like cultivating, parlor laughter, where there's always the subtext of conversation going on, but everyone is very agreeable." [11] Mayer Russ of Architectural Digest writes, "Pittman’s obsessions—political and personal trauma, with an incisive eye on the lamentable state of current world affairs—is a welcome tonic to the glittery, Koons-and-Hirst-variety theatrics that often dominate contemporary art discourse."[12]

In 2019, Lari Pittman had a solo retrospective show titled "Declaration of Independence" at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, Los Angeles. Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times recalled, "For the first time, the Hammer has turned over virtually all its main exhibition spaces to a comprehensive survey of a single artist — a testament to his singular achievement and broad influence." Knight expands, "Pittman’s work is often discussed in terms of its radical commitments to adornment. Spectacular gardens, decorated eggs, blue and white porcelains, Dutch still lifes and Spanish interiors, ladies and gentlemen taking tea in drawing rooms — the list is endless, stuffed into jam-packed paintings."

Personal life

Pittman considers himself to be an atheist. At CalArts, Pittman met his partner Roy Dowell with whom he has lived ever since.[13] Together Pittman and Dowell lived in a 1952 Richard Neutra home called the "Dorothy Serulnic Residence" and an adjacent Michael Maltzan home. Flea (musician) of the Red Hot Chili Peppers purchased the property in 2019 for $4.25 million. Pittman currently resides in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.[14]

Awards and honors

Board Memberships:

  • 2015 – 2018: MOCA, Los Angeles, Artist on the Board of Trustees
  • 2008 – present: Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, Board of Overseers

Awards:

  • 2013 International Association of Art Critics United States Exhibition Award Winner
  • 2012 International Association of Art Critics Award
  • 2011 Hammer Museum Gala in the Garden Honoree
  • 2006 Rhode Island School of Design Honorary Doctorate
  • 2004 Pacific Design Center Stars of Design 2004 Award for Art
  • 2002 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Skowhegan Medal
  • 1999/2000 Flintridge Foundation Award for Visual Artists
  • 1993 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant in Painting
  • 1990 California Arts Council Arts Fellowship Grant in Painting
  • 1989 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant in Painting
  • 1989 J. Paul Getty Trust Fund for the Visual Arts Fellowship Grant in Painting
  • 1987 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant in Painting
  • 1986 Art Matters, Inc. Grant

Public collections

References

  1. "Lari Pittman - Biography, vital info and auction records for Lari Pittman". Askart.com. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
  2. "Lari Pittman | Art21". PBS. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
  3. "'The Work Is Not Confined to One Demographic': See How Artist Lari Pittman Draws Inspiration From Cultures Around the Globe". artnet News. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  4. "Lari Pittman: Finding beauty in the grotesque". KCRW. 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  5. Ollman, Leah (2019-10-01). "Lari Pittman on Modernist Interiors, Spanish Metaphors, and Polymorphous Paintings". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  6. "Lari Pittman: Declaration of Independence | Hammer Museum". hammer.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  7. Ollman, Leah (2019-10-01). "Lari Pittman on Modernist Interiors, Spanish Metaphors, and Polymorphous Paintings". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  8. "Collecting Creatives: The Bruin behind viral ball-pit dress worn at the Grammys". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  9. "Lari Pittman | Art21". PBS. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
  10. https://www.thebroad.org/art/lari-pittman
  11. Pagel, David. "Lari Pittman", BOMB Magazine Winter, 1991. Retrieved on June 3, 2013.
  12. Rus, Mayer. "Lari Pittman". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  13. Spurrier, Jeff. "A Waterwise Cactus Garden". Garden Design Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  14. David, Mark (2018-06-29). "Flea Snags Architectural Compound From Artist Lari Pittman (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
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