ROCHESTER, MI.-
The Oakland University Art Gallery (OUAG) proudly announces the
exhibition Jef Bourgeau, a retrospective survey of the artist’s career
from its beginnings to the present, on view from September 8 through
October 7, 2007. Curated by Jan van der Marck (most notable as
founding director for museums in Chicago and Miami, and his
international work as independent curator), the exhibition features
some 70 of Bourgeau’s major works in painting, photography,
installation and film.
Bourgeau (American, b. 1950) is widely recognized as one of the most
adventurous and inventive artists of his generation. As a young teen,
he began as a writer and illustrator, then moved into film and
painting. In 1980 he first encountered the early potential of
computers and multi-media art. Over the next decade Bourgeau developed
all these varied mediums into a unique form of installation work.
Shrewdly understanding what makes art people, art institutions and art
markets tick, Bourgeau often exposes this system with just the right
indirection, chicanery and befuddlement, double talk and arrogance,
manipulation and profiteering - all in the guise and with the voice of
characters of his own invention. The Wall Street Journal has singled
him out as one of a new breed of invisible artist, one whose work is
pervasive while the perpetrator often remains hidden within the work.
Bourgeau's work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout
the United States , and from Europe through Asia. Jef Bourgeau will
also give an artist's talk on Sunday, September 23 at 2pm.
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