‘In The Company Of…’ On View At Housatonic Museum Of Art

BRIDGEPORT — “In the company of…,” the new exhibition at The Housatonic Museum of Art’s Burt Chernow Gallery, features videos, photographs, paintings and drawings by contemporary artists who glean subjects, inspiration and actors from their social scenes, creating collaborative works where relationships between artists, collectors, friends, and acquaintances significantly contribute to the fabric of an artistic practice. The exhibition has brought together a group of artists from different generations who reflect, capture or re-imagine social scenes through portraits, rendered moments, and  reconfigurings of observed behaviors.

The exhibition is on view until Friday, October 15. The gallery is on the campus of Housatonic Community College, 900 Lafayette Boulevard.

The theme for “In the company of…” is inspired by Andy Warhol’s early career that included the living theater of his studio, called The Factory, as well as his later career that relied heavily (for income and material) on portraits of collectors, celebrities, and socialites. The impetus for doing this exhibition now is the generous gift of Polaroids and black-and-white photographs that was recently given to Housatonic Museum of Art by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts through the Warhol Photographic Legacy Project.

HMA received a gift of 158 Polaroids and black and white photographs for its permanent collection. The collection of photographs includes Warhol Polaroids, which were often used as source material for his large, splashy portraits of celebrities and patrons.

When the artist died, he left behind thousands of Polaroid photos that came under the Andy Warhol Foundation’s charge. The Foundation has spent the past several years giving groupings of the Polaroid and black-and-white photographs to not-for-profit art institutions around the country.

Contextualizing Andy Warhol’s legacy within contemporary art, “In the company of…” pairs Warhol’s Polaroids, black-and-white photos, screen tests (including footage of musician Lou Reed and artist Marcel Duchamp), and an episode of Andy Warhol’s TV (featuring an interview with John Waters and Divine) with an array of works by artists working today.

Each artist in the exhibition finds unique ways to incorporate his social and cultural scene as subject, inspiration or actors. Billy Sullivan, a Warhol contemporary, will exhibit his works in a salon-style installation. With ink drawings, colorful paintings and photos whose dates range from 1969 to 2010, Sullivan exquisitely portrays artists, models, collectors, curators and others who move in his social circle during everyday moments, including a 1971 photograph of Andy Warhol with camera in hand.

In addition to Sullivan, Rashaad Newsome’s “Shade Compositions (Screen Test 2)” will also be on view. Described by the artist as a video that documents African American women acting out “sassy vocalizations” as part of “ethnographic research,” the video is a fresh, more overtly directed companion to Warhol’s silent black-and-white screen tests (where Warhol instructed his subjects to do nothing, not even blink).

“Throwing Shade” is African American terminology for non-verbal communications that express annoyance with another person.  “Shade Compositions” is a lively example of what Newsome describes as taking “things from different cultures” to “remix and reframe them and make them something everyone can understand.”

Jeremy Kost is perhaps most closely aligned with Warhol through his use of the Polaroid and his shared affinity for photographing celebrities and underground personalities. Kost, who began taking pictures in night clubs about ten years ago, will exhibit Polaroids from that scene and large color prints of celebrities. Samples from several series by the artist will be on view, including images from the “Ladies Who Lunch,” “Blinded by the Light” and “Objectification” series.  Subjects include drag queens and other personalities from the clubs he frequents, as well as celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Beyoncé and Madonna. Two videos by Kost will also be included. They feature paparazzi and a subtly performative backstage moment. 

Small, gestural inclusions of other works by Warhol and materials from popular culture will be inserted as well, creating moments of contemplation about the tensions between public/private, historic/contemporary, and reality/entertainment that inhabit “In the company of…”

Apecial programming for the exhibit will include a performance on Thursday, October 14, at 4 pm. Emerging artist Trisha Baga will perform “Madonna y El Niño.”

Madonna began her career when Warhol’s was waning, but they crossed paths and their social circles overlapped. Madonna, like Warhol, is also a consummate self-creation, inventing and reinventing herself over decades.

Ms Baga’s multi-media performance includes humorously and smartly manipulated videos of Madonna in concert, projected computer screens, and Baga’s live interaction with the media that streams from her Mac onto the wall behind her. The energy of nature in El Niño and the energy of changing personas Madonna exudes inform the work.

The museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am until 5 pm (Thursdays until 7), Saturday from 9 am until 3 pm, and Sunday noon to 4 pm. Call 203-332-5000 for additional information.