AUSTIN.- The Park Place Gallery was a prominent cooperative gallery in 1960s New York, shared by five sculptors (Mark di Suvero, Peter Forakis, Robert Grosvenor, Anthony Magar, and Forrest Myers) and five painters (Dean Fleming, Tamara Melcher, David Novros, Edwin Ruda, and Leo Valledor). With their unique interest in dynamic, complex space in sculpture and painting and their active engagement with contemporary cultural issues, the group was often at odds with the predominant movements and philosophies of most artists of the day. As a result, Park Place has rarely been treated in histories of the 1960s. By assembling a selection of major works rarely seen or seen together since that eraas well as photographs and documents chronicling the group's activitiesthis exhibition opens a new window on the 1960s art world. In doing so, it reveals the decade to have been a period of much richer artistic possibility and complexity than standard art historical narratives ever suggest.
Curated by Linda Henderson, David Bruton, Jr. Centennial Professor, Department of Art and Art History, College of Fine Arts, The University of Texas at Austin
Reimagining Space: The Park Place Gallery Group in 1960s New York is organized by the Blanton Museum of Art with support from the College of Fine Arts, The University of Texas at Austin.