The Art of Cooking Curated by Hanne Mugaas
April 26 - July 27, 2012
Curator Hanne Mugaas includes Creative Growth artist Aurie Ramirez in an exhibition on the history of food in art at Royal T Gallery in Los Angeles.
Intended to induce “the pleasures of the table”, the exhibition The Art of Cooking showcases artists who are making use of food in their work - as obsession, exploration or celebration - and often with a big dash of humor.
The works included span different media, from drawing and painting to digital prints and clothing. Takeshi Murata updates the traditional still life to digital 3D prints of empty beer cans and fast food cups. Viktor Kopp’s focus is on chocolate bars, which he continuously paints, experimenting with the rigid geometry of the grid. Scott Reeder makes abstract paintings using raw and cooked spaghetti, playing with the macho, academic nature of that media– and Kenny Scharf paints donuts humorously floating in surreal skies.
Food is something we can all relate to, as a social signifier and everyday source of pleasure. With this show, the curator Hanne Mugaas (who is from a family of restaurateurs and gourmet chefs) says “Food has always been present in art. With this show I wanted to focus on contemporary artists who represent food in interesting but also humorous ways – as food is (for most of us) linked to pleasure, not only when it comes to taste but also social interaction. This exhibition is meant to celebrate food – no matter if it is a gourmet meal, a donut, or a slice of toast with marmalade.”
Including artists Kenny Scharf, Olaf Breuning, Viktor Kopp, Marilyn Minter, Takeshi Murata, Yoshimoto Nara, Wayne Thiebaud, among others.