Salina Art Center

Opening in Art Center galleries: True Grit

January 29 through April 18  
Opening Reception
Thursday, January 28, 5:00 to 7:00 pm

Salina, Kansas – The Salina Art Center announces the opening of TRUE GRIT, on view in the galleries January 29 through April 18, 2010. The opening reception takes place Thursday, January 28, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, at the Salina Art Center, 242 S. Santa Fe, and is FREE and open to the public.

TRUE GRIT features the work of five American artists with exceptionally long and productive careers who continue to make thought-provoking work. Averaging 79 years of age, Judith K. Brodsky, Peter Campus, Warrington Colescott, Larry Edwards, and Lee Friedlander have each developed careers spanning more than fifty years that show no signs of slowing down. As inventive and courageous as ever, their artistic practices continue to project a sense of curiosity and engagement with the larger world of ideas. The exhibition is intended not only as homage, but also as inquiry. What fuels the unwavering devotion of these artists to work and career? Curators John Salvest and Les Christensen believe that such an investigation into the motivational forces driving these artists well past traditional retirement age has implications beyond the art world—an uncovering of the physical, cerebral, and spiritual capacities of the human condition. In a culture fixated on newness and youth, isn’t there still something to be learned from that which endures?

Exhibition Artists
Although recognized for her work as an advocate for both women artists and printmaking, Judith K. Brodsky (born 1933) has never lost her passion for producing her own work.  She is the co-founder and director of the Brodsky Center for Innovative Editions at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.  Peter Campus (born 1937) is regarded as one of the most important American video artists, and as a seminal figure in the development of video as an art form.  Still maintaining his video practice today, his most recent work combines elements of both video and still photography.  For many years Warrington Colescott (born 1921) devoted himself to building a world-renowned printmaking program at the University of Wisconsin while still creating his own work.  Now retired from academia, his work in the areas of satirical paintings and prints is more relevant than ever.  Also retired from university teaching, Larry Edwards (born 1931) is well known in the American South for his colorful yet dark-humored paintings that vigorously critique humanity’s baser instincts.  Photographer Lee Friedlander (born 1934) began capturing the American social landscape in 1948 including portraits of Jazz musicians and street photography.  Friedlander’s most current work, that included in TRUE GRIT, shows an artist still working at the height of his powers late into his career.

TRUE GRIT is curated by John Salvest, visual artist and independent curator, and Les Christensen, artist and director of the Bradbury Gallery at Arkansas State University. “We started out with a list of artists who were well past traditional retirement age but still seemed highly motivated,” Salvest says of TRUE GRIT.  “We were also seeking a variety of media. As we narrowed it down, five seemed like a good number for the size of the galleries, with each artist represented by six to eight works. When choosing work by the selected artists, we focused as much as possible upon newer work to emphasize their current levels of productivity. We also wanted to show how vital and relevant their work continues to be. Working with the artists has only deepened our respect for each and every one of them. Once the process of preparing for the exhibition is completed and we can see the work together, I think we’ll be better able to reflect upon our experiences.”

Following its showing at the Salina Art Center, TRUE GRIT will be on view at the Bradbury Gallery, Arkansas State University, June 11–September 26, 2010.

Related Programs:
The Gritty Truth
Friday, January 29, noon at the Salina Art Center
Exhibition curators John Salvest and Les Christensen sit down with exhibiting artist Larry Edwards to discuss the exhibition and the endurance, devotion, and relevance underpinning his prolific artistic practice.

Cocktail Conversations: Got Grit?
Thursday, March 11, 5:30 to 6:30 pm at the Salina Art Center
Savor an old-school libation and join psychology professor Gerald Gillespie and pastor Tom Reid for a discussion about what drives our desires to live life to its fullest.

This exhibition is generously underwritten in part by our 2010 exhibition partner