Robert Arneson: Troublesome Subjects

During February and March the George Adams Gallery presents a survey of works by Robert Arneson (1930-1992) in conjunction with the publication of the new monograph by Jonathan Fineberg, A Troublesome Subject: The Art of Robert Arneson, published by the University of California Press. The exhibition, titled Troublesome Subjects, consists of 25 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints made between 1961 and 1992, and emphasizes the artist’s forays into controversial subject matter such as nuclear proliferation, racial stereotypes, as well as his own struggle with cancer.

The most notable works in the exhibition include the large-scale canvas, Wimp Dip, 1991, a portrait of George H. W. Bush referencing the Gulf War, and from Arneson’s Nuclear Series, the ceramic sculpture A War Memorial, 1983, and a rare color woodcut titled, A Nuclear War Head, of the same year.

Also in the exhibition are works from the Black Series: the two-part sculpture, Chief Executive Officer/ Rapist & Drug Dealer, 1989, and a canvas portrait of Willie Horton, Election Time Again, 1992, both of which directly address issues of racial stereotyping.

Among the self-portraits on view are Pot Picker Pot, 1978, and Pic, 1980, which portray Arneson humorously, perhaps defiantly, picking his nose as if to deny any claim to the making of fine art. I Have My Eyes on Me Endlessly and Portrait at 62 Years are both self-portrait bronzes from 1992; one shows the artist’s lighter side by playing on Brancusi’s Endless Column,  while the latter, starkly patinaed in black and white, addresses his own mortality.  


Exhibition Checklist

Main Gallery

1.
Portrait at 62 Years, 1992
Bronze
72 x 23 ½ x 23 ½ inches
RAs 53

2.
A Nuclear War Head, 1982-83
Color woodcut
42 x 57 inches
RAr 12

3.
Wimp Dip, 1991
Pastel, plastic enamel, acrylic, oil on canvas
97 x 75 inches
RAp 9

4.
A War Memorial, 1983
Glazed ceramic
37 x 38 x 25 inches
RAs 231

5.
Nuke News, 1983
Mixed media on paper
38 x 53 inches
RAd 64

6.
Chief Executive Officer/ Rapist & Drug Dealer, 1989
Glazed ceramic
73 ½  x 12 x 12 ½  inches
RAs 15

7.
Yus White and Ugly Man, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
58 x 46 inches
RAp 11

8.
Election Time Again, 1989-1992
Plastic enamel, acrylic, oil on canvas
36 x 34 1/2 inches
RAp 12

9.
I Have My Eyes On Me Endlessly, 1992
bronze
80 x 12 x 12 inches
RAs 54

10.
Balancing Act, 1975
Ceramic
17 x 11 x 7 inches
RAs 233

11.
Roy of Port Costa Plate, 1979
Glazed ceramic, mixed media
20 x 20 x 2 inches
RAs 234

12.
Untitled (Self-portrait), 1989
Acrylic, oil stick on paper
48 x 31 5/8 inches
RAd 87

13.
East Window:
White Bread, 1989
Acrylic, oil on paper
48 x 31 5/8 inches
RAd 18

14.
West Window:
District Manager, 1988
Conte, charcoal on paper
48 x 31 ¾ inches
RAd 73

Drawing Gallery

15.
Coiled Pot, 1961
Glazed ceramic
25 ¾ x 11 ½ x 8 inches
RAs 157

16.
Viscera Pot, 1961
Glazed ceramic
9 x 9 x 9 ½ inches
RAs 230

17.
Jack - Slow Down, 1986
Mixed media on paper
30 x 44 ½ inches
RAd 42

18.
Memorial Slab #1: Springs on a Summer Night, 1988
Glazed ceramic on granite base
16 x 23 x 6 inches
RAs 217

19.
A Cup of Coffee Empty Version, 1971
Glazed ceramic
4 ½ x 8 ½ x 5 inches
RAs 178

20.
Pot Picker Pot, 1978
Glazed ceramic
11 x 11 x 9 inches
RAs 232

21.
Pic, 1980
Color lithograph
40 x 30 inches
RAr 03

22.
J.P.’s Shadow, 1987
Charcoal on paper
48 x 31 ¾ inches
RAd 69

23.
Colonel Nuke’s Lecture, 1984
Acrylic, oil stick, collage on paper
53 x 65 inches
RAd 06

24.
Study for ‘Missile Monument’, 1985
Charcoal, pencil on paper
41 x 13 inches
RAd 60

25.
The Colonel is at it Again, 1986
9 color lithograph with hand coloring
40 x 30 inches
RAr 14