The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) announces Rosson Crow: Myth of the American Motorcycle, an exciting exhibition pairing all new work from painter Rosson Crow with customized American motorcycles. Raphaela Platow, the CAC’s Alice & Harris Weston Director and Chief Curator states, “We are bringing Rosson’s art and the art of motorcycles together. The remarkable combination offers an immersive experience for audiences and provides context in which to view the artist’s massive paintings.” The show, curated by Assistant Curator, Justine Ludwig, opens November 6, 2010 and runs through April 3, 2011.
Bold, irreverent and rebellious are often used to describe Crow. But girly, charming and fearless would work just as well. The 27 year-old painter has become a fixture on the club scene, her celebrity status crossing over in recent years from the art world to the party circuit. Though quite young, she has several major shows under her belt already, having caught the attention of galleries and collectors while still in art school. Ever since her senior thesis, Crow has been creating super-sized paintings of daring places. Her tendency is to take on stereotypically male-dominated spaces like strip clubs, hunting lodges, oil rigs and butcher shops and make them her own. For Rosson Crow: Myth of the American Motorcycle, she delved into the world of biker bars. Addressing masculine territory is Crow’s way of dealing with the consideration of gender in her world. Her very personalized style takes direct aim at its subjects, creating rich and layered scenes infused with theatrical expression and raw emotion. The elements within her compositions are often distorted, obscured and disorienting. The outcome is an evocative funhouse effect of floating neon and dark recesses. Though the end result is pulled from her imagination, it is an imagination informed by copious and meticulous research. In typical Crow style, the artist immersed herself in biker culture the year prior to the show. That level of understanding enables Crow to animate the space she paints, giving the viewer insight into the distinct personality of the place and time she captures. It also allows her drippy, dark and smoldering aesthetics to melt seamlessly with the subject matter. As Ludwig describes, for this show “Rosson hung out in biker bars, leather stores and repair shops and gathered an extensive library of motorcycle related books, Easy Rider Magazines and memorabilia. Her paintings were created from these multiple points of view and sources, as well as a healthy shot of personal fanatasy—resulting in dense and dynamic canvasses. Partially dissolved neon signs hang in a vintage motorcycle shop, a biker funeral takes place in the legendary—but now defunct—punk club CBGB, and a collection of road signs from a mythical cross-country ride to Sturgis find themselves in one single location.”
Just as Crow’s paintings tell a story, so do the customized motorcycles displayed with her work. Platow remarks, “One of the original hacker cultures, the world of customized bikes is drenched in a romantic sense of individuality. The motorcycles in the show—all Indians and Harley Davidsons—are loaded with character, each one having been thoughtfully revamped to reflect the personalities of their respective owners.” Individually they tell autobiographical tales of the relationship between rider and machine, but together they reveal the gender-bending mashup that is also evident in Crow’s work. Equal parts muscle and glamour, these bikes are built for performance. Precious in the eyes of their owners, they are workhorses with killer paint jobs. Fussed over and preened, each has taken on a swagger of its own. This tailoring reveals the bikers’ passion and the gusto with which they approach biking culture. Though never seen in her paintings, these devotees lend character to the environments Crow creates and are as much a part of her scenes as the machines that star on her stage.
Opening Party
free and open to the public
Friday, November 5 at 8pm
Artist Talk
discussion with Rosson Crow
free with CAC admission
Saturday, November 6 at 2pm
About the Contemporary Arts Center
Founded in November 1939 as the Modern Art Society by three visionary women in Cincinnati, the Contemporary Arts Center was one of the first institutions in the U.S. dedicated to exhibiting the art of our time. In May 2003, the CAC relocated to its first free-standing home, the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, designed by Zaha Hadid. Throughout its distinguished history, the CAC has earned a reputation for stimulating thought and introducing new ideas by presenting the work of diverse artists from around the world, including hundreds of now-famous artists such as Laurie Anderson, Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, Nam June Paik, I.M. Pei, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Kara Walker and Andy Warhol. The CAC focuses on new developments in painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, performance art and new media, presenting six to 12 exhibitions and over 20 performances annually. The CAC receives ongoing support from: Fine Arts Fund; Ohio Arts Council; The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, City of Cincinnati Arts Grant Recipient; The National Endowment for the Arts; the generous contributions and grants of individuals, corporations and other foundations; CAC memberships, facility rentals, special events and sales from the CAC Store. UnMuseum programs and artists are sponsored in part by the Charles H. Dater Foundation, Josephine Schell Russell Charitable Trust, PNC Bank, Trustee, and The Ladislas and Vilma Segoe Foundation.
Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) is located in the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art / 44 East 6th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio / 513.345.8400
Gallery hours: Monday: 10am–9pm (FREE after 5pm)
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday-Friday: 10am–6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 11am–6pm
www.contemporaryartscenter.org
