Smart Museum: our Pal, Cliff: Selections from the H. C. Westermann Study Collection
On view at the Smart Musuem in Chicago is a wonderful show detailing the work of H.C. Westerman.
Your Pal, Cliff presents Westermann with a mix of biography and insight into his craft. The show melds together a mix of art, objects, and archival documents that provide a unique insight into the artists sense of craft, use of materials and decision making process. The H.C. Westermann Study Collection at the Smart Museum of Art is one of the most significant public collections of artwork and archival material related to Westermann’s life and work. This is a wonderful view into that collection and is on view now through September 6, 2009.
Curators: Rachel Furnari and Michael Tymkiw
Horace Clifford (H. C.) Westermann (1922–1981) created a meticulously crafted and highly personal body of work that defies easy categorization. He blended imagery born of profound personal experiences—especially apparent in the Death Ship and other motifs related to his searing experiences in World War II—with bawdy, absurd, or unsettling elements from contemporary American material culture. This comprehensive and revealing new exhibition offers fresh insight into the work and life of this singular American artist.