Base Materials – Garry Noland

Opening Reception on Feb. 9, 6 – 8 p.m., with a Gallery Talk for the artist taking place prior to the opening at 6 p.m.

The Cleve Carney Art Gallery presents Base Materials, a solo exhibition of work by artist Garry Noland, based both in Kansas City, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California. Featuring two-dimensional and sculptural work, the show will include a full wall-length version of If your six year old saw something like this would he know how to phone for help?, containing never-before-seen elements of the ongoing installation piece produced from the April 1972 issue of National Geographic Magazine.   

Active since 1980, Noland is well-known for using reclaimed material to produce abstract works, which at first glance belie their complexity. Often using large pieces of polystyrene dredged from lakes nearby his native Kansas City, Noland transforms the corroded material with glass marbles and metallic tape to “evoke tombstones weathered beyond reading, or memorials disconnected from that which they once commemorated,” wrote Lynne Warren, Adjunct Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, in the catalogue essay for Noland’s 2015 exhibition Unorganized Territory. Through these materials, Noland questions the conventional tools used to create art, and in doing so also contests the dominant cultural narratives of our time.

“This exhibition has developed in direct response to the gallery space,” said Gallery Director & Curator Justin Witte. “Garry will expand on current works, including photographic collage pieces, alongside abstract sculptures and assemblages.” 

Additional events include:

• A gallery talk with the artist on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 1 p.m.

• Brown Bag Lunch Gallery Tours with Gallery Director Justin Witte
  • Thursdays, Feb. 14 & 28, March 7, 14, 21 & 28 at 12 p.m.
• Found Object Sculpture Workshops for Children and Families
  • Saturday, Feb. 23 at 11 a.m.
  • Friday, April 5 at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m., prior to “Schoolstage: Magic School Bus – Lost in the Solar System” at The Mac

Admission to the exhibition and all related events is free and open to the public.

Base Materials may be viewed during regular gallery hours: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. and one hour prior to McAninch Arts Center performances and during intermission. AtTheMAC.org for more information about MAC events.