ART CITIES: Seoul-Lari Pittman

With an extensive repertoire of symbols and decorative motifs, excised from far-ranging sources, Lari Pittman weaves innovative, visually dense pictures that convey poignant themes and reveal information into every inch of the canvas. Contrary to the cool and reserved aesthetic of conceptual and minimal art, Pittman’s approach revels in the use of artifice.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: The Long Museum Archive

Lari Pittman’s first museum survey in Asia, “Magic Realism” features more than 30 paintings and drawings created over the past 12 years. The exhibition underscores the artist’s ongoing exploration in themes related to modern life, including regeneration and optimistic renewal in 21st century society.  On this occasion, works from six key series are brought together for the first time: “thought-form of the inverse and converse of hope” (2012); “Nocturnes” (2015); “Iris Shots Opening and Closing” (2020); “Diorama and Vanitas” (2021);  “Cities with Egg Monuments: Luminous” (2022); and “Sparkling City With Egg Monuments” (2023). The exhibition sheds light on Pittman’s prolific output and the evolution of his work over the last decade. “I am honored that my work is being shown at The Long Museum in Shanghai,” said Pittman. “The Long Museum has championed my work over the years and I am grateful for their support in mounting such an ambitious exhibition in Asia. This exhibition is special for me because it will showcase many works which haven’t been exhibited before alongside important paintings, including six paintings from the Long Museum collection. I am excited to see my work within the context of the type of contemporary cityscape that has inspired me throughout my career. ”In “Magic Realism”, the visual motif of eggs, which has appeared in Pittman’s work since the mid-1980s, is seen consistently. The forms are integrated into nightscapes and cityscapes; they appear as monuments and as part of nature scenes, ready to hatch into life. Eggs are part of the artist’s utopian perspective: a feminist and generative vision of the world rooted in the exuberance of life. Filled with eggs in a variety of sizes and guises, these paintings serve as love letters to the possibilities of life in the twenty-first century, including optimism and renewal. Lari Pittman’s work reflects the exuberance of eras past and homes for future worlds. His complex imagery brings ordered structures to contemporary ideas, which are presented through unique colors and forms. Highlights from the exhibition include selections from Pittman’s recent bodies of work “Cities with Egg Monuments: Luminous” and “Sparkling Cities with Egg Monuments”, which were presented at Lehmann Maupin in Seoul (2022) and in New York (2023), respectively. Created during the global pandemic between 2020-2022, these bodies of work include a number of monumentally scaled paintings that are characterized by the artist’s unique visual aesthetic containing dense, interwoven imagery in vibrant colors. His paintings have consistently explored topics including life, death, love, sex, consumerism, and capitalism. Here, Pittman approaches such themes through the lens of isolation and rebirth, looking both backward and forward in time. The history of decoration is another key element in Pittman’s work, deployed not only for visual patterning but as subject matter itself. Here, it appears as complex ornamentation and a consideration of aesthetics. The works on view also demonstrate the conceptual strategies and rigor that underpin Pittman’s process. In each work, he begins with the title and then maps visual structure, which he refers to as the work’s architecture; from there, he populates his canvases with imagery related to his thematic concerns. Recently, Pittman has presented meditations on modern life, ranging from isolation to abundance. His otherworldly settings are suggestive of the urbanity of cityscapes and the idiosyncrasies of nature. Teeming with life and visual excess, the canvases on view in Magic Realism invite viewers to fantasize about the exuberance and hope for the future.

Photo: Lari Pittman, Sparkling City With Egg Monuments, 2022, Acrylic and spray paint over gessoed canvas over wood panel, 5 panels, each: 96 x 80 inches, 243.8 x 203.2 cm, Overall: 96 x 400 inches, 243.8 x 1016 cm, © Lari Pittman, Courtesy the artist Lehmann Maupin Gallery and Long Museum

Info: Curator: Rochelle Steiner, Long Museum (West Bund), 3398 Longteng Avenue, Xuhui District, Shanghai, Duration: 17/8-20/10/2024, Days & Hours: Tue-Thu 10:00-18:00, Fri-Sun 10:00-20:00, www.thelongmuseum.org/