The Work of Lari Pittman

Lari Pittman is an American artist that I have long admired.  Born in 1952, his father is American, his mother Colombian.  He is currently a professor at UCLA.  I don't know how he finds time to teach, with all the work he produces.

I was in LA in late December, and stopped in at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, one of my favorite museums to visit.  They had a retrospective of Lari's work that was so big, so bold, so fascinating.  It's hard to describe his work, but to me it is visually exciting.  Every time you look at one of his paintings you see something new.

Pittman uses anthropomorphic depictions of furniture, weapons, and animals—loaded with symbolism—to convey themes of romantic love, violence, and mortality. His paintings and drawings are a personal rebellion against rigid, puritanical dichotomies. They demonstrate the complementary nature of beauty and suffering, pain and pleasure—and direct the viewer’s attention to bittersweet experiences and the value of sentimentality in art. Despite subject matter that changes from series to series, Pittman’s deployment of simultaneously occurring narratives and opulent imagery reflects the rich heterogeneity of American society, the artist’s Colombian heritage, and the distorting effects of hyper-capitalism on everyday life.

Pittman graduated from Cal Arts, then went on to get his MFA from there, too.  It was there that he met his life partner, Roy Dowell.  If you are not familiar with his work, you can find it at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles and dozens of museums around the country.  He is collected by many serious art collectors around the world.  

From his paintings I thought he might have had a tormented life.  He seems to be painting about rebellion against society, love, romance, history, current culture and violence.  Other than a 1980's robbery that left him badly injured, I could not find much that would account for his fascinating paintings.  I guess he just has a wild imagination.  Get to know his work if you haven't already.  He is one of a kind.