ROCHESTER, MI.- The Oakland University Art Gallery (OUAG) proudly announces the exhibition Jef Bourgeau, a retrospective survey of the artist’s career from its beginnings to the present, on view from September 8 through October 7, 2007. Curated by Jan van der Marck (most notable as founding director for museums in Chicago and Miami, and his international work as independent curator), the exhibition features some 70 of Bourgeau’s major works in painting, photography, installation and film.

Bourgeau (American, b. 1950) is widely recognized as one of the most adventurous and inventive artists of his generation. As a young teen, he began as a writer and illustrator, then moved into film and painting. In 1980 he first encountered the early potential of computers and multi-media art. Over the next decade Bourgeau developed all these varied mediums into a unique form of installation work.

Shrewdly understanding what makes art people, art institutions and art markets tick, Bourgeau often exposes this system with just the right indirection, chicanery and befuddlement, double talk and arrogance, manipulation and profiteering - all in the guise and with the voice of characters of his own invention. The Wall Street Journal has singled him out as one of a new breed of invisible artist, one whose work is pervasive while the perpetrator often remains hidden within the work.

Bourgeau's work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States , and from Europe through Asia. Jef Bourgeau will also give an artist's talk on Sunday, September 23 at 2pm.