Jon Kessler

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 13, 6 – 8 pm Gallery Talk: Wednesday, September 26, 6:30 pm

New York, July 2007 – The Drawing Center is pleased to present the first exhibition devoted to the drawing-based work of renowned mixed-media sculptor Jon Kessler in the Drawing Room from September 14 through October 25, 2007. Best-known for large-scale kinetic sculptures and installations, Kessler has been exploring the mass media's infatuation with disaster, war, sex, and celebrity through politically charged work since the 1980s. In his new series of drawings, Kessler creates portraits by taking found representations culled from the worlds of fashion, celebrity culture, and contemporary politics and reconfiguring them to reflect on the spectacle of American power and the instant access to images of objectification and violence. Based on the idea of “the portrait as a metaphor for captivity,” Kessler's new body of work confronts the convergence of advertising, propaganda, surveillance, and technology that threatens to undermine democratic politics. This exhibition is curated by João Ribas, curator, The Drawing Center.

ABOUT THE ARTIST Jon Kessler was born in 1957 in Yonkers NY, and earned his B.F.A from Purchase College, State University of New York, Purchase, NY, in 1980. His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at venues including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA; Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzburg, Austria; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX; Kunstverein, Hamburg, Germany; and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY. Kessler’s work is included in many public and private collections such as The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; The Whitney Jon Kessler, Mob #2, 2007. Magazine and newspaper on cotton and abaca base sheet, 17 1/2 x 23 inches. Produced during the 2007 Dieu Donné Lab Grant Project. Museum of American Art, New York, NY; The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel; The Saatchi Collection, London, UK; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, CA; and The Deste Collection, Athens, Greece.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS On Wednesday, September 26 at 6:30 pm, Jon Kessler will speak about the evolution of his work and his new body of drawings in conversation with João Ribas. Admission is free. The Drawing Center is pleased to introduce a new series of Family Programs featuring exhibition-related activities designed to engage children and adults in hands-on creative exploration. On Saturday, October 6 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, children ages 9 to 11, accompanied by an adult, are invited to participate in an art-making activity related to Jon Kessler: Works on Paper. Family Programs are led by museum educator Wan Ling Li. Admission is free.

PUBLICATION Jon Kessler: Works on Paper will be accompanied by Drawing Papers 72, an eight-page edition of The Drawing Center's publication series featuring images of the artist’s imagined myspace.com friends.

Jon Kessler
Works on Paper