The Art of the Pop Portrait

LEVEL GALLERY (formerly WAAS Gallery) is proud to present a special collaboration between legendary artists Jim Evans (TAZ) and Richard Duardo titled “The Art of the Pop Portrait” (circa 1984-1989) this spring. On view from Feb. 20 through April 2, the collection will be complemented by functional sculptures and furniture created by Lincoln Innovation Award-winning designer/artist Dakota Pratt.

Please join us for an Opening Reception on Saturday, Feb. 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. and meet-and-greet with Jim and Dakota, as we discuss their body of work and its importance in the contemporary art world. RSVP to [email protected].

ABOUT JIM EVANS
Exploiting a uniquely singular period of creative irrationality, from 1984-1989, Jim Evans embraced the mass-media canonization of celebrity as an experiment in artistic fetishization. This series of pop portraits are reflections of a civilization, dense with information and hungry for focus. “These images,” says Evans, “are manifestos for the over stimulated.

“If Warhol transferred the stark Marlon Brando image into the realm of art, Evans enhances the meaning of the image with other visual information. And, if Warhol ‘portrayed’ the Campbell’s soup can as a straightforward consumer icon, symbolic of nothing but itself, Evans portrays a golden gramophone as the symbol of the industry it spawned, and annotates that symbolism with a backdrop of musical scoring. In Jim Evans’ hands, the Pop portrait has finally entered its second generation.” – Peter Frank, 1989

ABOUT RICHARD DUARDO
The late Richard Duardo (also known as “The Warhol of the West”), who passed away in Nov. 2014, was an artist and master printer with over 25 years of experience producing works for over 450 artists including Shepard Fairey, David Hockney, John Van Hamersveld and Keith Haring among others. Duardo was known for producing large, vibrant colored silk-screen prints of pop-cultural icons. His work has featured the likes of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Duke Ellington and Che Guevara. Duardo reworks these icons with his signature hand-finished pastel strokes and uses bold, graphic typography to allow the viewer to question the notion of celebrity and what makes these people iconic, but also human.

ABOUT DAKOTA PRATT
Dakota Pratt’s artistic focus is on functional sculptures & contemporary furniture. After graduating from the Columbus College of Art & Design with a BA, Dakota began exhibiting his work in art galleries & shows across the country. His work is now collected and exhibited throughout the United States. Dakota’s art has been influenced by the works of Henry Spencer Moore, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg.

For more information on the exhibition, please visit www.level-gallery.com.