Dia Art Foundation | Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College

Blinky Palermo

CCS Bard Center for Curatorial Studies, New York

Organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College (CCS Bard), 'Blinky Palermo: Retrospective 1964-1977' introduces American audiences to the influential German artist. Including more than sixty works, most of which have never been shown in North America, this comprehensive retrospective provides a fresh and in-depth examination of the evolution of the artist's aesthetic and illuminates the significance of his contributions to the field of postwar painting.

Organized by Dia Art Foundation and the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College (CCS Bard), and curated by Lynne Cooke, Blinky Palermo: Retrospective 1964–1977 introduces American audiences to the influential German artist Blinky Palermo (1943–1977). Including more than sixty works, most of which have never been shown in North America, this comprehensive retrospective provides a fresh and in-depth examination of the evolution of the artist's aesthetic and illuminates the significance of his contributions to the field of postwar painting.

The first collaboration between the two largest museums in the Hudson Valley dedicated to art from the 1960s through the present, the exhibition will be shown both at Dia:Beacon and at CCS Bard. On view in the CCS Bard galleries will be the Objects, which Palermo created shortly after he graduated from Joseph Beuys's class at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1964, as well as the Stoffbilder (Cloth Pictures), and documentation of his Wall Drawings and Paintings. The installation at Dia:Beacon will be devoted to Palermo's Metal Pictures, dating from 1973 to 1977, which the artist developed while living in New York City.

This retrospective continues Dia's longstanding commitment to Blinky Palermo. Dia founder Heiner Friedrich represented Palermo through his Munich gallery in the mid-1960s and presented his first solo exhibition in 1968. In 1987, Dia inaugurated its exhibition space in Chelsea with a major show of works by Palermo, alongside those of Beuys and Imi Knoebel. Until the current tour, Dia:Beacon housed the most significant Palermo installation in the United States, featuring To the People of New York City (1976), a monumental painting in fifteen parts, which is also a centerpiece of this exhibition. Marieluise Hessel, co-founder of CCS Bard, with encouragement by Friedrich, collected works by Palermo, several of which are included in this retrospective.

Publication

Blinky Palermo: Retrospective 1964–1977 is accompanied by a full-color, hardcover book, co-published by Dia and Yale University Press. Essays by distinguished authors, including Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Suzanne Hudson, Susanne Küper, James Lawrence, as well as curator Lynne Cooke, position the artist's work in relation to postwar American art and culture, examine issues of space and time in the Wall Drawings and Paintings, and provide insights into Palermo's works on paper. Preface by Dia Director Philippe Vergne and CCS Bard Director Tom Eccles. Extensive biography and bibliography. Available online at www.diabooks.org.

Blinky Palermo

Blinky Palermo was born Peter Schwarze in 1943 in Leipzig, where he and his twin brother, Michael, grew up as adopted children under the name Heisterkamp. In 1962 he entered the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where he studied with Joseph Beuys, and in 1964 he adopted the name Blinky Palermo, which he appropriated from an American boxing manager. During his lifetime, Palermo participated in more than seventy exhibitions and represented Germany at the 13th São Paulo Biennial (1975). Posthumous retrospectives have been presented at the Kunstmuseum Winterthur (1984); the Kunstmuseum Bonn (1993); Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, in co-production with the Serpentine Gallery, London (2002–2003); and the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2007).

Public Programs

Lynne Cooke and Dia have invited four artists who have been inspired by Palermo's work to give walkthroughs of the Dia:Beacon installation of the exhibition, exploring Palermo's Metal Pictures and late works within the context of his artistic development. Talks are free with museum admission.

Saturday, July 9, 2011, 2 pm
Josiah McElheny

Sunday, July 24, 2011, 2 pm
David Reed

Sunday, September 25, 2011, 2 pm
Cheryl Donegan

Saturday, October 15, 2011, 2 pm
Liliana Porter

Free round-trip transportation on a chartered bus is available from New York City to both locations.
For bus reservations, write ccs@bard.edu or call 845.758.7598

Image: Coney Island II, 1975. Collection Ströher, Darmstadt, Germany. Photo: Jens Ziehe, Berlin

Press Contact:
Mark Primoff 845.758.7412 primoff@bard.edu

Opening Day Saturday, June 25, 2011, 11 am–6 pm
Events are open to the public.

Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries
3 Beekman Street
Beacon, NY 12508

Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS Bard)
Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504

Hours
Dia:Beacon regular hours: Thursday–Monday 11am–6pm [closed Tuesday and Wednesday]
CCS Bard regular hours: Wednesday–Sunday 1–5 pm [closed Monday and Tuesday]