Larry Clark
White Trash
Luhring Augustine
Bushwick, 25 Knickerbocker Avenue
Larry Clark may be one of the most influential American film makers and photographers with his intense depiction of drug and angst-induced youth, but the artist is also an avid art collector himself with a collection of hundreds of artworks he mostly maintains in his TriBeCa loft. Unsurprisingly, the type of art Clark has collected over the years reflects his artistic interests that he conveys in his controversial multimedia practice. Luhring Augustine’s White Trash, named after George Horner’s namesake piece in the exhibition, opens Clark’s collection to public view.
Joe Andoe, Spaniard in the works, 2012 Oil on canvas © Joe Andoe; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York.
Clark, who is known for his work in film and photography, such as Tulsa series and Kids, focusing on teenagers experimenting with drug and alcohol use while starting to discover their sexuality, has amassed a collection that ponders the absurdity embedded in life. Existentialist expressions, forlorn black and white photographs of physical contact, and exuberantly colorful illustrations of sexuality are evident in the works of some of the most eminent artists who are mostly’s Clark’s peers and friends. Sue Williams, Jeff Koons, Steve Wolfe, David Wojnarowicz, Raymond Pettibon, Robert Gober, Mike Kelley, Sally Webster, and many others come together in an exhibition that sheds a distinct light on American art from the last few decades.
Jack Pierson, APPLAUSE, 1997 Aluminum and plexiglass lightbox Edition 35 of 35 © Jack Pierson; Courtesy of the artist, Cheim & Read, New York, and Luhring Augustine, New York.
“I think it's pretty amazing that even the Tulsa book that was shot in '62 and came out in '71 is still available and people buy it. People still find it dangerous and controversial. I think it’s good to still feel dangerous after all of these years. I don’t embrace the controversy; it just happens. I am just trying to show real life. All of my work throughout the years is about a small group of people who you wouldn’t know about otherwise,” expressed Clark in a 2014 interview with Erica Euse on VICE, speaking about the controversy that has always surrounded his work.
The exhibition runs through June 18, 2017.
