Guild Hall will present its summer exhibition, “Robert Longo: A History of the Present,” which will open on Saturday, August 7 and run through October 17.
A History of the Present is a celebration of and a critical investigation into the span of American history bookended by Abstract Expressionism and the current moment in which we live. In two adjacent galleries, Longo juxtaposes America’s past with its present through 19 monumental, highly labor-intensive charcoal drawings that act as mirrors into history. A documentary film, featuring Longo and other art world luminaries discussing the show, produced by The Artist Profile Archive, will accompany the exhibition.
The exhibition begins with Longo’s “Gang of Cosmos” series — exquisitely rendered, highly sensitized black and white translations in charcoal — based on prominent paintings from the American Abstract Expressionist movement. Many of the artists who created the works, upon which these interpretations are made, lived and worked on the East End, making the ubiquity of the local landscape’s presence in the abstractions at once mesmerizing and inevitable. Considered the most advanced American art at the time, Abstract Expressionism was championed for being monumental in scale, romantic in mood, expressive of freedom, and uniquely American in spirit.
“These works embody America’s willful rise out of the ashes after the world tried to destroy itself during the Second World War,” said the artist. Longo’s personal fascination with this era is no coincidence: he was born around the beginning of it and bore witness to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, an event which took place as the Abstract Expressionist influence was beginning to wane.
Pictures in the second gallery are from the series, “The Agency of Faith,” echoing our current state of affairs, and posing questions about our national and environmental narratives. A massive wave drawing anchors the visual energy of the gallery and serves as a reminder of nature’s enigmatic, unrelenting power. Longo’s connection to the ocean and surfing on the East End goes back decades and inspired his creation of the classic wave drawing, the largest wave Longo has made to date and one which he made specifically for this exhibition. A quiet wing of a fallen bird evinces nature’s vulnerability. Yet, once the viewer encounters a drawing depicting a field of cotton alongside a drawing of a closely cropped Native American headdress, the seeming innocuousness of the natural imagery begins to expose a more provocative narrative. Longo presents us with captivating images both of our American crimes and answered calls to action, unleashing an urgency to acknowledge our shared burdens and therefore shared responsibilities. Longo’s signature velvety charcoal chiaroscuro activates the power of beauty, seducing the viewer into a state of, if not unadulterated, optimism, renewed faith in our agency to create possibilities for our future.
“As a curator I am so thrilled to be able to work with Robert Longo, as he is an artist whose work I have admired for years,” said Guild Hall Museum Director and Chief Curator, Christina Mossaides Strassfield. “His generosity last year in giving up his summer exhibition slot to help create All for the Hall, an exhibition/fundraiser during the pandemic was beyond our wildest dreams. A History of the Present is composed of two bodies of work, Gang of the Cosmos and The Agency of Faith, and could not be more perfect for Guild Hall. They are a tribute to our past as a showcase and proponent of Abstract Expressionism and a snapshot of where today’s society stands. Robert’s work is cached in depth and meaning from an artistic as well as social perspective, pushing the boundaries on all fronts.”
Robert Longo will be honored at the Annual Summer Gala on Friday, August 6, in recognition of his extraordinary work mobilizing 60 artists to donate artworks for a special benefit exhibition. All for the Hall was created in response to the challenges faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and included painting, sculpture, photography, and site-responsive installations by such artists as Laurie Anderson, Philippe Cheng, Jeremy Dennis, Eric Fischl, Rashid Johnson, Shirin Neshat, Enoc Perez, Dorothea Rockburne, Ugo Rondinone, Michael Halsband, Clifford Ross, Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith, Karin Waisman, and Robert Wilson, among many others.
For more info, visit www.guildhall.org.