Spring exhibitions

The 2017 spring exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis feature an overview of recent work by feminist figurative artist Nicola Tyson in her first solo museum show in the US; recent portraits of African Americans and the African diaspora by photographer Deana Lawson; a site-specific mural by internationally recognized painter Katherine Bernhardt; and multidisciplinary artist Louis Cameron, who will premiere photographs from his ongoing “Clouds” series while displaying poster art from his The Poster Project presents online initiative.

Nicola Tyson offers a deserved reappraisal of a significant artist working prolifically at mid-career, featuring major paintings and works-on-paper made from 2005 through 2016. Tyson is engaged in the reimagining of the figure, or more precisely reimagining the gaze upon the female body. She is noted for her “psycho-figuration,” a practice that erases the distinctions between representation and abstraction and expresses the inner psyche of its subjects. Her portraiture undermines specificity, bodies morphing into creatures or unidentified selves turned inside out. Although often comic in nature, these representations of fractured personae also possess a quiet poignancy.

Deana Lawson explores and challenges the conventional representations of the black body seen throughout the history of photography. Her large format photographs are highly staged and often made in collaboration with her subjects. They depict individuals, couples, and families in both domestic and public settings, visualizing ideas of kinship, ritual, identity, and desire. Lawson’s tableaux are not only intimate—her subjects depicted nude, embracing, and directly confronting the camera—but they also destabilize the notion of a passively voyeuristic relationship to photography itself.

Katherine Bernhardt’s new mural, XXL SUPERFLAT PANCAKE, made specifically for CAM’s Project Wall, contains many motifs from the artist’s idiosyncratic personal and political iconography combined with rhythmical patterns and a neon color palette inspired by her frequent travels to Puerto Rico. Her work absorbs Pop Art and Graffiti Art traditions and their preoccupations with commodification and consumption. Painting with spray cans, Bernhardt reinvigorates street-art actions such as “bombing” and “tagging,” collapsing distinctions between the art inside and outside the museum walls.

Louis Cameron’s Front Room exhibition premieres six photographs from his ongoing “Clouds” series. Adjacent to “Clouds,” in the Museum Lobby, two portfolios are displayed from Cameron’s online initiative, The Poster Project presents. Cameron’s art practice has always been socially and politically engaged and both exhibitions—the highly crafted “Clouds” and the internet-accessible posters—belong within the framework of his inquiries into the meaning, creation, and preservation of common space. 

Nicola Tyson, Katherine Bernhardt, and Louis Cameron are organized for CAM by Lisa Melandri, CAM Executive Director. Deana Lawson is organzied for CAM by guest curator Kelly Shindler.

Work in progress: Katherine Bernhardt 
Friday, January 6, 11am
Katherine Bernhardt discusses her mural-in-progress, XXL SUPERFLAT PANCAKE, with CAM Executive Director Lisa Melandri.

Artist talk: Deana Lawson
Saturday, January 28, 11am
Photographer Deana Lawson is joined by guest curator Kelly Shindler for a conversation about her recent work.

Artist talk: Louis Cameron
Tuesday, January 31, 6:30pm
Multidisciplinary artist Louis Cameron talks about his ongoing series of works with CAM Executive Director Lisa Melandri.

Performance: Nicola Tyson
Thursday, April 6, 6:30pm
The artist reads from her book Dead Letter Men.

About the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM) presents, supports, and celebrates the art of our time. It is the premier museum in St. Louis dedicated to contemporary art. Focused on a dynamic array of changing exhibitions, CAM provides a thought-provoking program that reflects and contributes to the global cultural landscape. Through the diverse perspectives offered in its exhibitions, public programs, and educational initiatives, CAM actively engages a range of audiences to challenge their perceptions. It is a site for discovery, a gathering place in which to experience and enjoy contemporary visual culture. CAM is located in Grand Center, a world-class arts and entertainment district in the heart of St. Louis.

Press contact: Eddie Silva
esilva [​at​] camstl.org / T 314 535 0770 x311