Manufactured Unreality
The Art of Collage

Francis M. Naumann Fine Art is pleased to present the group exhibition “Manufactured Unreality.”  Organized by artist Don Joint, this exhibition brings together a diverse range of works in a variety of materials—all made under the general rubric of collage.  A number of artists from the past—Enrico Baj (1924-2003), Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), Raymond Hains (1926-2005), Jiří Kolář (1914-2002) and May Wilson (1905-1986)—have used the medium as a primary means of expression throughout their respective careers, which is the case for several contemporary artists included in the exhibition as well: David Beideman, John Evans, Mario Naves and Fran Schanz.  Nearly all of the other artists in the show use collage as an extension of work in other media (as painters, sculptors, photographers, or graphic designers): Herbert Bayer (1900-1985), Kim Beck, Brice Brown, Gary Cardot, Paul Clendenin, William Copley (1919-1996), Paul Forte, Witold Gordon (1898-1968), Elise Graham, Don Joint, Maureen Mullarkey, Naomi Savage (1927-2005), and Joseph Stella (1877-1946).

            As the title of this exhibition indicates, many of the artists included in the show extrapolate fragments of reality—objects or reproductions of objects from the real world—to create visions that exist only in the mind, thereby, one could say, “manufacturing unreality.”  The often labor-intensive technique of collage transposes, juxtaposes and superimposes images culled from disparate sources in order to produce fantastical chimeras and unexpected narratives, at times jolting viewers from their comfortable and often complacent relationship with more conventional forms of art.  By displaying examples of the traditional use of collage (essentially formalist) with those that are more and narrative and iconographic in approach (conceptual), the full range of the media is revealed, demonstrating that collage continues to function as a powerful and poignant means of expression in the world of contemporary art.