Ugo Rondinone: vocabulary of solitude, 2014-16; milled foam, epoxy resin, and fabric, forty-five parts; dimensions variable; private collection, courtesy of Frahm & Frahm.
The first solo museum presentation of this internationally acclaimed artist in the Bay Area, this exhibition incorporates imagery and themes from popular culture as well as drawing inspiration from historical art movements such as Romanticism and Surrealism. Seemingly lighthearted motifs including rainbows, clowns, and clown shoes take on a melancholy tone in this riveting and psychologically intense installation. Ugo Rondinone's nuanced use of space, scale, color, and pose contribute to a brooding sense of the sublime. The joy and wonder of children's drawings of rainbows, for example, are counterbalanced by the formal and emotional weight of the sheer number of images.
June 28 - August 27
6 pm Vancouver-based curator Lee Plested will present a talk on Rondinone's work, followed by an open discussion with BAMPFA Director Lawrence Rinder (free with museum admission).
6pm to 9pm, BAMPFA 2155 Center Street
Tickets on sale Friday, 4/14 at 12:30 pm. $20 adv / $24 door. 644-2020. www.thefreight.org
8pm, Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA, United States
$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com
8pm, Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center, 1317 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA, United States