Mark Mothersbaugh to be first artist to curate an exhibition at Clyfford Still Museum; Joint ticket with MCA Denver Announced
MCA DENVER: October 30, 2014–April 12, 2015
CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUM: March 6–May 3, 2015
DENVER (January 23, 2015)—The enormous creativity of a tireless artist is growing into the galleries of a second major Denver museum this spring. The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA Denver) and the Clyfford Still Museum (CSM) will offer a joint ticket surrounding Mark Mothersbaugh, the visual artist, composer of scores for movies and television, and frontman for the influential musical group DEVO. Currently featured in the critically acclaimed MCA Denver exhibition Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia, the artist will initiate an ambitious new curatorial series at the Clyfford Still Museum by curating an exhibition of Clyfford Still’s works, Artists Select: Mark Mothersbaugh, on view at CSM March 6–May 3, 2015. CSM will continue the series with different guest curators in coming years.
Beginning February 17, guests of either museum may purchase a joint ticket to experience both exhibitions at a discounted price. Tickets may be purchased at either museum. Joint tickets for groups of ten or more will be available by calling the Clyfford Still Museum (720-354-4878) or MCA Denver (303-298-7554).
JOINT TICKET PRICING
Adults: $13 (Groups of ten or more: $10) Seniors: $10 (Groups of ten or more: $8)
Students (over 19) / Teachers / Military: $7 (Groups of ten or more: $5) MCA Denver and CSM Members: Free
Children and Teens: Free
At CSM, Mothersbaugh will review juvenilia, early Canadian landscapes from the 1920s, startling expressive figures created during the Depression, early abstractions made during World War II, and classic abstract expressionist masterpieces by Still to create an artist’s unique presentation of Still’s works. Mothersbaugh’s interpretation will be the first in a new series at the Museum called Artists Select, in which creative professionals will conduct curatorial work traditionally performed by individuals with chiefly academic, art historical backgrounds. Along with other research and programming initiatives at CSM, Artists Select aims to uphold the intellectual breadth—ranging from an interest in music and philosophy to literature and history— that Clyfford Still himself maintained.
Myopia, Mothersbaugh’s first major solo exhibition, opened at MCA Denver in October of 2014 and runs until late April, 2015. It then travels to five other cities, including New York. The exhibition includes documentation and music from his DEVO days; prints, drawings, paintings, sculptures, rugs and video animations; performances; newly produced musical and sculptural installations; and most notably a life-long series of postcard-sized works, exhibited in their entirety for the first time at MCA Denver.
“Given the versatility of Mark Mothersbaugh’s creative expression, his work with the Clyfford Still Museum will undoubtedly surprise and delight our guests,” said CSM Director Dean Sobel. “His prolific, multi-disciplinary background is perfect for the challenge of interpreting—in new ways, with free reign—the world’s most intact public collection of a major American artist.”
“Mark is truly a creative polymath,” said MCA Denver Director and Chief Animator Adam Lerner, “We have seen so many examples of his music, drawing, printmaking, and sculptures, the opportunity to work with CSM is a further extension of his creative canvas into curating.”
“Clyfford Still is a man after my own heart.” said artist Mark Mothersbaugh, “Like him, I am a great collector of my own work. I am honored and excited to be a part of this program.”
Outsider status may be the most significant link between Still and Mothersbaugh, who has never been represented by a gallery. Clyfford Still famously severed ties with his New York gallery representation in 1951, spending the final thirty years of his life in self-imposed isolation from commercial and academic acclaim. Mothersbaugh’s first museum exhibition came at 64 years of age despite a lifetime of artistic work; the vast majority of Still’s work—95% of his entire artistic oeuvre—was almost entirely hidden from public view prior to the opening of the Clyfford Still Museum in 2011.
ABOUT MCA DENVER
The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA Denver) is a non-collecting institution acting as an incubator for art and ideas, artistic exchange and dialogue. In 2007, eleven years after its founding, the museum opened a new David Adjaye-designed building in Lower Downtown Denver. MCA Denver presents exhibitions featuring local, national and international artists, as well as offering ongoing public programs that explore the relationship between art and contemporary life. MCA Denver has a robust youth program, with a focus on teens. In 2009, The Lab at Belmar merged with MCA Denver.
MCA DENVER LOCATION AND HOURS
MCA Denver is located at 1485 Delgany on the corner of 15th Street and Delgany, in Denver, CO. The telephone number is 303-298-7554. MCA Denver’s hours are Tuesday through Thursday NOON-7PM, Friday NOON-9PM, Saturday and Sunday 10AM-5PM. The museum is closed on Monday.
ABOUT THE CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUM
Home to the world’s most intact public collection of a major American artist, the Clyfford Still Museum opened in November of 2011 to promote public and scholarly understanding of the life and work of Clyfford Still (1904–80). Considered one of the most important painters of the twentieth century, Still was among the first generation of Abstract Expressionist artists who developed a new, powerful approach to painting in the years following World War II. In addition to approximately 9,000 square feet of exhibition space devoted solely to the artist’s work, the Museum also houses the Clyfford Still Museum Archives and the Clyfford Still Museum Research Center. The Los Angeles Times calls the Museum “a marvelous model for what a single-artist museum can be;” Smithsonian Magazine describes the Museum as “among the best art museum experiences anywhere.” The Museum was designed by Allied Works Architecture, which received the 2013 Design Award, 2012 Honor Award, and 2012 Craftsmanship Award from the American Institute of Architects for the project.
CLYFFORD STILL MUSEUM LOCATION AND HOURS
The Clyfford Still Museum is located at 1250 Bannock Street, adjacent to the Denver Art Museum in downtown Denver. The Museum can be reached by email (info@clyffordstillmuseum.org) or by phone (720-354-4880). Clyfford Still Museum hours are Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.–8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.