Capt. Beefheart’s paintings in NYC
http://www.antonkerngallery.com
ANTON KERN GALLERY [532 W 20th St New York NY 10011]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) 1985 - 1995 May 31 =96 July 6, 2007
May 4, 2007=97For the first time in six years, the work of Don Van =
Vliet, who is best known under his musical moniker Captain Beefheart, =
will be shown in two New York galleries, Michael Werner and Anton =
Kern Gallery. The exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery will present 15 =
paintings and a group of drawings form 1985 to 1995. The shows were =
organized in collaboration and a catalog including a preface by P.J. =
Harvey will be available.
“I was born in the desert,” is the beginning line of Don Van Vliet’s =
first album, setting the tone for his entire artistic output, which =
aside from being a composer and rock musician always included writing =
poetry and making paintings. The magic of the desert and its power to =
make seemingly inanimate and diverse objects become alive and equal =
is at the center of Van Vliet’s art making.
What characterizes his music certainly sheds light onto Van Vliet’s =
paintings: syncopation, blues riffs, rhythm n’ blues honking and =
shouting, a declamatory hick-upping style of singing (like Howlin’ =
Wolf on acid), free jazz improvisation and simultaneity, as well as =
interlocking riffs and repeated patterns (rather than the traditional =
division between melody, harmony, and rhythm). There’s a true sense =
of instrumental equality in his music and this equality sits at the =
core of Van Vliet’s paintings.
Despite its seemingly abstract and expressionist look, nothing is =
random in the paintings. Everything is composed with a large dosage =
of improvisational freedom to make the individual parts groove and =
prove their worthiness of being equal. The riffs lock together. Van =
Vliet uses a broad brushstroke to define lines, shapes, and the space =
in between, keeping it unpolished, and thereby developing a pictorial =
vocabulary of almost hieroglyphic pictogram-like strength. Of course, =
the paintings make a nod towards the ideas of expressionism and =
empathy and their related histories, but in the end, they show more =
affinity to prehistoric signs. Populated with animals, human figures =
and desert flora they conjure up memories, like incantations =
conjuring up the spirits of modernism in the California desert.
Don Van Vliet was born in Glendale, CA in 1941. He released his first =
7-inch single (”Diddy Wah Diddy”) in 1965 under the name of Captain =
Beefheart & his Magic Band. In 1969, he recorded his greatly =
acclaimed forth album “Trout Mask Replica,” and after the release of =
his twelfth and last album in 1982, devoted himself exclusively to =
painting, drawing and poetry. Van Vliet’s paintings have been shown =
in U.S. and German galleries since the early 1980s. A retrospective =
called “Stand Up to Be Discontinued” traveled to the Bielefelder =
Kunstverein, Museum Waldhof, Bielefeld, Germany (1993), the =
Kunsthallen Brandts Kl=E6derfabrik, Odense, Denmark, Brighton Museum & =
Art Gallery, Brighton, UK (both 1994), and the Cleveland Center for =
Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH (1995). He currently lives in the =
California desert.