Peter Marcus: Horsehead Series by Bruno David Gallery

PETER MARCUS HORSEHEAD SERIES

PETER MARCUS: Horsehead Series March 16 - April 14, 2007 Bruno David Gallery 3721 Washington Boulevard Saint Louis, 63108 Missouri, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Director: Bruno L. David

This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition Peter Marcus: Horsehead Series Editor: John McLoyd Designer: Sage A. David Designer Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Bruno David Gallery and Peter Marcus Artwork photos by Bruno David Gallery staff and Jeff Hirsh Cover Image: Peter Marcus Horsehead Series XIII (detail), 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 59 x 101 inches (149.86 x 256.54 cm) Copyright ÂŠ 2007 Bruno David Gallery and Peter Marcus All Right Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery, Inc.

Contents

Essay by Jane DeLynn Afterword by Bruno L. David Checklist of the Exhibition Biography

THE HORSEHEAD SERIES Essay by Jane DeLynn

Peter Marcus’s recent series of collagraphs are based on the Horsehead house in Jamestown, Rhode Island; a large shingled Victorian of the kind you see by the sea in New England. These houses, with their odd turrets towers, and belfrys and other asymmetries, speak to us of another kind of time and another kind of life, and in some fashion these works function as a kind of elegy: not so much to this house but to this kind of architecture and a kind of time it connotes, all emblematic of an America–or, at least, the idea-- of an America that has ceased to exist. Each of the prints contains a central image of the house, chine colle’d (pasted) onto the paper during printing. This image is photographic, but collaged: a compilation of various photos or sections of photos of the house combined in a way that feels coherent but is, in fact, visually inconsistent. Sections of the house are jumbled together, rearranged, doubled, perspectives askew in the Cubist sense--as if you are viewing at the house from various places (or distances) at once. The background, also, is collaged, with some sections of ground that seem like “close ups” of dirt or gravel or dry rivulets, others of a more “neutral” / “natural” view of lawn. Although the house is by the seaside, the water is never shown. A more obvious disruption is made by the graphic white lines in many of the prints, as if masking tape had been placed, somewhat haphazardly, over the photos. Although clearly geometric (you can sometimes see the ruler markings that govern their making), they often possess an antic, anarchic quality, and are most effective when they cease to be merely graphic superimpositions and become tables or stools or androids poignantly (and somewhat spookily) trying to climb over the houses. While further fracturing the initial images, these images also add to the “horror house” aspect Victorians always seem to evoke.

The use of color is minimal. The photograph images themselves are in black-and-white, and the occasional blue bit of sky, or the bright orange yellow of a window glowing intensely (from light or sunset, it is up to the viewer to decide) stand out particularly strongly for their contrast to the otherwise muted colors. In their concern with architecture and old, perhaps soon-to-be-torn-down buildings, these works obviously have a close relation to the series on Grand Center displayed last summer at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis. But Rhode Island is where Peter and his wife spend their summers, and this series seems both more personal and elegaic. You can see this in a few prints–an occasional tiny but naturalistic photo of the house, embedded amidst the larger deconstructed one. That whole and perfect house existed only for a few, and a long time ago. The rest, for us, is just dreams.

— Jane DeLynn, Long Island, New York (2007)

Jane DeLynn is a writer and the author of several novels, including Don Juan in the Village (1990), Bad Sex Is Good Sex and In Thrall (both 1998) and, Leash (2001). Her work has met with critical acclaim for its comic and thoughtfully transgressive portrayals of lesbian lifestyles. She currently a Visiting Associate Professor at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visuals Art at Washington University in St. Louis. This essay is one in a series of introductions to the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

Afterword by Bruno L. David

Bruno David Gallery is pleased to exhibit Horsehead Series by Peter Marcus. Mr. Marcus creates large-scale experimental prints inspired by, and based on, architecture. His innovative technique of bonding coated paper to canvas permits his large-scale presentation without the distortion of glazing, a technique that challenges the distinction between printmaking and painting. Complex patterns and textures draw the viewer into his work, with space-defining areas of color applied over primarily black-and-white collagraph, a form of intaglio printing related to engraving and etching. Marcus’ pieces are about combining opposites, being large while, at the same time, intimate, and geometric while organic. His recent work focuses on the lesser-viewed sides of a Rhode Island summer house built in the 1890s. Mr. Marcus was born in Glens Falls, New York. He currently lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri. He received an M.F.A. from Brooklyn College, a B.S. from New York University, and he studied at the Parson’s School of Design, New York. He is a recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grants. Marcus is an Emeritus Professor of Art at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Peter Marcus’s art has been widely exhibited, and his work is included in museum collections, including the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York; the Saint Louis Art Museum, in St. Louis, Missouri; the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts in Dallas, Texas; the Cedar Rapids Museum of Arts in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; the Springfield Art Museum in Springfield, Missouri, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Mr. Marcus was a juror for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Checklist of the exhibition and Images

Horsehead Series III, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 59 x 101 inches (149.86 x 256.54 cm)

Horsehead Series IX, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 23 x 29-1/2 inches (58.42 x 74.93 cm)

Horsehead Series I, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 59 x 101 inches (149.86 x 256.54 cm)

Horsehead Series XVI, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 29-1/4 x 35-1/2 inches (74.29 x 90.17 cm)

Horsehead Series IV, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 59 x 101 inches (149.86 x 256.54 cm)

Horsehead Series VIII, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 29 x 45-1/2 inches (73.66 x 115.57 cm)

Horsehead Series V, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 59 x 101 inches (149.86 x 256.54 cm)

Horsehead Series XII, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 22-1/2 x 29-3/4 inches (57.15 x 75.56 cm)

Horsehead Series XI, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 22-1/2 x 29-3/4 inches (57.15 x 75.56 cm)

Horsehead Series XVII, 2007 Collagraph print and digital print on paper mounted on canvas, 29-1/4 x 35-1/2 inches (74.29 x 90.17 cm)

Horsehead Series (Installation view), 2007

Compton Avenue Studio, Saint Louis, Missouri, 2007

PETER MARCUS Born 1939, Glens Falls, New York Lives and works in Saint Louis, Missouri EDUCATION 1965 1965 1962 1960

Special Studies in Printmaking, Scuola del Libro, Urbino, Italy M.F.A., Printmaking, Brooklyn College, New York B.S., Industrial Design, New York University, New York Certificate, Parsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School of Design, New York

ONE PERSON EXHIBITIONS 2007 2006 2002 1996 1995 1994 1993 1991 1990 1989 1987 1986 1984 1981 1978 1977 1975 1974 1973 1966

Bruno David Gallery, Horsehead Series, Saint Louis, MO Molloy College Art Gallery, Peter Marcus: The Horsehead Series, Curated by Yolande Trincere, Rockville Centre, NY Museum of Contemporary Art St. Louis, Centering on the Grand, St. Louis, MO Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Modern Ruins, Saint Louis, MO Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Peter Marcus, Saint Louis, MO Millikan University Gallery, Peter Marcus: Recent Work, IL R. Duane Reed Gallery, Peter Marcus, Saint Louis, MO Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Peter Marcus, Saint Louis, MO Brookhaven College, Peter Marcus: Works on Paper, Dallas, TX Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Peter Marcus, Saint Louis, MO Locus Gallery, Peter Marcus, Saint Louis, MO Mitchell Museum, Peter Marcus: Recent Work, Mt. Vernon, IL Walnut Street Gallery, Peter Marcus, Springfield, MO Galerie Van Mourik, Peter Marcus, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Locus Gallery, Peter Marcus, Saint Louis, MO Jan Cicero Gallery, Peter Marcus: Works on Paper, Chicago, IL B.Z. Wagman Gallery, Saint Louis, MO The Saint Louis Art Museum, Currents 32: The Narragansett Bay Series, Saint Louis, MO B.Z. Wagman Gallery, Saint Louis, MO Jan Cicero Gallery, Peter Marcus: Recent Work, Chicago, IL Barbara Okun Gallery, Saint Louis, MO Jan Cicero Gallery, Peter Marcus, Chicago, IL Katherine Markel Gallery, Peter Marcus, New York, NY Barbara Okun Gallery, Peter Marcus: Recent Work, Saint Louis, MO Blue Parrot Gallery, Peter Marcus: Large Lithographs, New York, NY Albright-Knox Gallery, Peter Marcus: Works on Paper, Buffalo, NY The Saint Louis Art Museum, Peter Marcus, Saint Louis, MO Walker Art Center, Peter Marcus, Minneapolis, MN 37

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2007 2006 2005 2004 2002 2001 2000 1999 1997 1995 1994 1993 1990 1989 1988 1985 1983 1980 1979 1977 1976 1972 38

ArtsDesire, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. Overview, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO Inaugural Exhibition, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO Noire, curated by Bruno David, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Saint Louis, MO 1984-2004 Twentieth Anniversary Celebration, curated by Bruno David, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Saint Louis, MO Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Art..., curated by Bruno David Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Saint Louis, MO Size Matters, curated by Bruno David, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Saint Louis, MO Group Show, Brookhaven College, Dallas,TX Group Exhibition, Lydon Fine Art, Chicago, IL Group Exhibition, Milwaukee Art Institute, University of RI Summer 2000, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art (Group Show) St. Louis, MO Midlands: Works On Paper, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska Big Impressions, Fine Arts Center Galleries, curated by Judith Tolnik, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI Saint Louis: The City Series, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA Monumental Collagraphs, Goddard Gallery, Stauffacher Center for the Fine Arts, Community College, Sedalia, MO Group Exhibition, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL Recent Prints, Steinbaum Krauss Gallery, New York, NY Prints, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama Group Exhibition, University of South Dakota Big Print, University of Dallas, Dallas, TX Dawings, Dawing Center, New York, NY Untitled, Shed Aquarium, Chicago, IL Prints, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL Recent Prints, Jan Cicero Gallery, Chicago, IL Group Exhibition, Suwa Gallery, Japan Group Exhibition, Nan Jing, China Prints, Joy Moss Gallery, Miami, FL Mid-America Arts Alliance/National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Winners, traveling exhibition Mid-Four Annual, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO Prints 85, Craft Alliance, Saint Louis, MO One of A Kind, Maryland Art Institute Works on Paper, Missouri Arts Council Group Exhibition, Montclair State University Gallery, Montclair, NJ Group Show, Brookhaven College, Dallas, TX Works on Paper, Loyola College, New Orleans, LA Artist in Residence Exhibition, Heron School of Art, Artist in Residence Exhibition, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL Mid-West Artists, Krannert Museum Works on Paper, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS (continued) 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964

Group Exhibition, San Diego State College, San Diego, CA Works on Paper, Los Angeles County Museum Group show, University of Kentucky Group Exhibition, University of Minnesota Gallery Wisconsin Printmakers, Luther College Invitational, New York State University, Albany, NY University of Maine American Federation of Arts, (traveling exhibition) Works on Paper, New York State University, Potsdam, NY Group Exhibition, Waterloo, IA Kansas State Black and White Show Prints, Brooklyn Museum, NY Group Exhibition, Springfield Museum, Springfield, IL Group Show, Cooper Union Museum, NY

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY DeLynn, Jane Herndon-Consagra, Beall, Hugh and Griffin, Bill Tricere, Yolande Krekeler, Kara Miller, Rob. Cooper, Ivy. Bonetti, David. Beall, Hugh. Miller, Rob. Beall, Hugh and Griffin, Bill Bonetti, David. Sieloff, Alison. Murphy, Anne. __________ Bonetti, David. Cooper, Ivy. Martelli, Rose. Bonetti, David. Cooper, Ivy.

“The Horsehead Series”, Bruno David Gallery Publication, Catalog (essay), March 2007 “The Architectural Prints of Peter Marcus”, Catalog (essay), 2007 “Peter Marcus”, October, 2007. Video (Interview) “The Horsehead Series”, Catalog (foreword) “Contemporary show turn its eye on Grand Center”, West End Word, July 5, 2005 “’Over hung’ show or ‘Hung over’ critic?” Saintlouisart, November 17, 2005 “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Riverfront Times, November 9, 2005. “Bruno David Gallery”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, November 9, 2005 “The Bruno buzz”, West End Word, October 26, 2005 “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Saintlouisart, October, 2005 “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Illusion Junkie, October 25, 2005. Video “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 20, 2005 “Grand Grand Center”, Riverfront Times, October 19, 2005 “Art News”, The Healthy Planet, September 2005 “Hot Picks”, Vital VOICE, October 8-22, 2004, p. 15. St. Louis, MO. “Artist Celebrate Elliot Smith With Works Incorporating 20,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 2004. St. Louis, MO. “1984-2004 Twentieth Anniversary Celebration At Elliot Smith”, Riverfront Times, September 29, 2004, St. Louis, MO. “Smith Elliot: The Gallery Looks In The Mirror For Its 20th.”, Riverfront Times, September 15-21, 2004, St. Louis, MO. “Legends of the Fall - Critic’ Picks,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 2, 2004. p. 2 (Get Out). St. Louis, MO. “Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Art...”, Riverfront Times, July 28-August 3, 2004, p. 42. St. Louis, MO. 39

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY (continued) Bonetti, David. “Everything Show”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 18, 2004. p. F8. St. Louis, MO. Cooper, Ivy. “Size Matters”, Riverfront Times, June 9-15, 2004, p. 39. St. Louis, MO. Daniel, Jeff. “War-torn Kosovo inspires printmaker’s ‘Modern Ruins,’” Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, October 13, 2002 Rubin, Dan. “Two art school professors move off campus,” Cadenza, September 26, 2002 __________ “Make It Big,” Art on Paper, September/October 2001 Gray, Channing “URI celebrates art of the print,” Providence Journal, November 25, 1999, Providence, RI Daniel, Jeff. “Marcus makes a world of dark shadows and lines,” Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, November Duffy, Robert W. “Mapping Imagery,” Saint Louis Post-Dispatch Bellos, Alexandra. “Bead It,” Riverfront Times, May 4-10, 1994 Shepley, Carol Ferring.“Boldness in Black & White,” Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, April 21, 1994 Bellos, Alexandra. “Bay Watch Peter Marcus: Mixed Media,” Riverfront Times, October 9-15, 1991 Harris, Paul, A. “Exaggeration Vitalizes Monotype Still-life Studies,” Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, October 3, 1991 Artner, Alan G. “Fluorescent-light pieces a brilliant series,” Chicago Tribune, October 5, 1990 Cohn, Sherrye. “Looks Can Be Deceiving In Exhibition,” Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, December 8, 1989 Shapiro, Michael E. “Currents 32: The Narragansett Bay Series,” Catalogue Essay, March 1986 Duffy, Robert, W. “Abstract Art Comes Alive At Elliot Smith,” Saint Louis Post-Dispatch Cunningham, Eldon L.“Printmaking: A Primary Form of Expression,” page 125 SCHOLARSHIPS 1978-1980 Grant for Master Print Workshop 1976 Member, Missouri Council for the Arts 1972 Grant, Missouri Council for the Arts 1967 Research Grant, University of Wisconsin, Stout 1961-1962 Fellowship, Brooklyn College 1960-1961 Assistantship, New York University 1957-60 Scholarship, Parson’s School of Design AWARDS 1985 1984

National Endowment for the Arts Senior Visual Artists Fellowship Grant M-AAA/NEA (Mid-America Arts Alliance and the National Endowment for the Arts) Fellowship for Visual Artists in Printmaking

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS Boatmenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bank, Saint Louis, MO Brookhaven College, Dallas, TX Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn NY Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA Commerce Bank, Saint Louis, MO CORTEX, Saint Louis, MO Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX Europe, Wide I Ann Jans, Los Angeles, CA Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. Mark Twain Banks, Saint Louis, MO Milliken University, Decatur, IL Newark Public Library, NJ Pulaski Bank, Saint Louis, MO Queens College, Queens, NY Ralston Purina, Saint Louis, MO Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO University of Wisconsin, Stout, WI The Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, MO The Seven-Up Company, Saint Louis, MO Southwestern Bell, Saint Louis, MO The Private Bank, Saint Louis, MO TIAA-Cref, Saint Louis, MO United Airlines United States Steel, NY United States Embassy, Nicosia, Cyprus University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA University of Missouri, Saint Louis, MO University of Wisconsin, Madison, Elvehjem Museum, WI Washington University, Saint Louis, MO

Collagraph Collagraph is a form of intaglio printing related to etching and engraving. Sometimes a collagraph may be referred to as a collage print or collage intaglio. Collagraphs differ from etchings and engravings in two ways: etchings and engravings are done on metal plates, usually copper or zinc. Collagraphs can be done on cardboard, paper, wood, metal or plastic plates, or just about anything else that can be run through a press. Etching and engraving plates have incised or cut-into surfaces to produce the textures from which the image is printed. Collagraphs are collaged, that is, the printing surface is built up from other added materials. Collagraphs are printed in exactly the same way as etching and engravings. They can be printed either as intaglio or relief. They can also be printed as a viscosity print in the same way as the others can. Depending on how they are printed and from what material they are made, the plates may last to produce editions as large as 150 prints, but usually editions of much smaller size are produced by artists working in this medium.