From Lens to Eye to Hand: Photorealism 1969 to Today

From Lens to Eye to Hand reexamines this important movement in contemporary art that found its roots in the late 1960s in California and New York and continues today. Photorealism reintroduced what many considered to be straightforward representation into an art world more attuned to the burgeoning conceptual framework of artistic practice coming out of Pop and into Minimalism, Land Art, and Performance Art. Often misunderstood and sometimes negatively criticized as being overtly tradition-al, these artists were, and are, trailblazers.

Taken together, the 73 works in the exhibition firmly demonstrate that Photorealism remains, undiluted and conceptually coherent and consistently compelling. Viewers can approach the work in an immediate level, for its technique, finesse, and appealing subject matter; but viewers can also go deeper, and enjoy the complexity and contradictions, the multiple means of entrance that Photorealism affords. From Lens to Eye to Hand shows that these seemingly low-key works are both provocative and puzzling.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.