GEORGE NAMA

"Devils' Pageant", a collaborative exhibition
with the poetry of pianist Alfred Brendel



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“DEVILS' PAGEANT”
A collaborative exhibition of N.Y. Artist George Nama with the poetry of pianist/poet Alfred Brendel
April 6-May 31, 2002
Opening reception April 6, 7-9:30pm

Jack Rutberg Fine Arts
357 N. La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036-2517
Tel (323) 938-5222, Fax: (323) 938-0577
Email: jrutberg@jackrutbergfinearts.com
Web site: http://www.jackrutbergfinearts.com
Hours: Tues.-Fri., 10am-6pm; Sat., 10am-5pm

Alfred Brendel is a world-famous pianist who is performing on the West Coast at the Los Angeles Music Center on April 5, as well as at the Irvine Barclay Theater in Orange County on April 7. He’s also a celebrated poet, whose latest work, “Devils Pageant,” depicts mischievous devils and the havoc they wreak. But the sly humor Brendel conveys in his poetry does not diminish his contemporary bite. His “Verso V,” for example, aptly anticipates current events in the corporate and political world: “When devils feel bored they play at being good / With pious faces hands neatly folded they sit round the boardroom table and forgive each other anything they ever did or might be itching to do / The first to dissolve in tears wins”

Brendel’s poetry, along with a series of etchings and sculpture by celebrated New York artist George Nama, serves as the basis of a collaborative art exhibition at Jack Rutberg Fine Arts in Los Angeles which opens on April 6.

Inspired by his friend’s poetry, George Nama has created a series of light-hearted, yet charged etchings and bronze sculpture that The New York Times writer Grace Glueck had cited as having "achieved a life of its own [apart from Mr. Brendel's celebrated poetry]" in her rave review; while Art in America critic David Ebony labels the work “visual poetry.”

Brendel’s poems in German, along with their English translations, book-end the ten Nama etchings along with sculptures and drawings in this exhibition, titled “Devils Pageant/Von Teuflen.” These works anticipate a new body of works on which both artists are currently in collaboration, based upon the "Devils' Pageant" counterpart--Angels.

An opening reception, Saturday, April 6 from 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. with George Nama and Alfred Brendel in attendance will feature a poetry reading by Mr. Brendel. In addition to the limited-edition artist’s book of original etchings and poetry signed by both artists, a fully illustrated exhibition catalogue will be available, with introductory essays by two world renowned poets, Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Simic and Academie Francaise member Yves Bonnefoy.

The exhibition extends from April 6 through May 31, and is shown concurrently with "Images of Women", an exhibition of Modern & Contemporary mster works spanning more than 100 years. Jack Rutberg Fine Arts is located at 357 N. La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday 10:00 - 6:00; Saturday 10:00 - 5:00. For additional information, please phone (323) 938-5222.

Visuals are available on request.



Return to George Nama essays
Return to George Nama