My Modern Met • April 11, 2024 • by Sarah Currier
For the past two decades, artist Chuck Sperry has been creating psychedelic, brightly colored silkscreen prints from his studio in Oakland, California. During that time, the artist has become a world-renowned master in the discipline, as his work has reinvented the classic rock poster for the modern audience. Those interested in seeing some of Sperry’s work up close and personal are in luck—it will be on display in an ongoing solo exhibition in New York City.
The exhibition, which is titled Only Human, will feature works from throughout Sperry’s nearly 30-year career, including his ongoing Muse series and several pieces from his archive. The exhibit will examine “what it means to be a maker in the 21st century” especially as more and more jobs are being automated or outsourced. According to Sperry, “Art made by humans for humans in physical reality is imbued with the soul of our humanity. Our uniquely mortal heart and immortal spirit, drawn from our human culture, our human collective unconscious and experience, will transcend the current imperative for non-human and virtual intervention in the art space.”
Sperry’s prints merge the styles of traditional print makers from classical antiquity with the vibrant colors and patterns of artists from the Art Nouveau period, but with a modern twist. Many of his prints have a distinct 70s feeling to them. Lots of his subjects are women with long, flowing hair, wearing loose clothing and, in many cases, featuring flowers or other varieties of foliage that are spilling out of their hair. (Flower power is definitely alive and well in his work.) Old fashioned designs that one might see on antique wallpaper are also scattered across his pieces, adding vintage patterns to his modern-feeling art.
Online offerings still available from my solo Only Human at Harman Projects – show is on view in New York City until May 4.
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