Get Real: Photorealist Prints from the James W. Hyams Collection January 23 to March 5, 2004 Marsh Art Gallery, University of Richmond Museums Get Real: Photorealist Prints from the James W. Hyams Collection features forty-one prints by leading Photorealist artists that explores the enduring interest of this American art movement thirty years after it came to prominence. The selection includes a variety of printmaking media: lithography, screenprinting, etching, digital inkjet printing, and, in the case of Chuck Close’s portrait of contemporary composer Philip Glass, woven silk tapestry.
Photorealism developed in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a response to issues raised by modernism and especially Pop art. The original Photorealists shocked the art world with depictions of contemporary subject matter that were not only based on photographic sources but were also blatantly photographic in style. Thirty years later, the subjects seem tame and perhaps even nostalgic, but the images continue to intrigue with their revealing look at some of the more mundane aspects of popular culture and the world around us, from the suburban landscape to mass-produced toys to details of movie marquees. As a movement, many of its issues have been assimilated into mainstream art, and today “photorealism” is often seen as more of a style or point of view used by many contemporary artists. The exhibition features Photorealist prints selected from the outstanding contemporary art collection of Roanoke collector James W. Hyams, a University of Richmond graduate (B.A. 1968 and M.A. 1972). The prints, dating from 1972 to 1995, were created by the leading Photorealist artists, many of whom continue to explore the possibilities of this form of realism: Robert Bechtle, Charles Bell, Tom Blackwell, Chuck Close, Robert Cottingham, Don Eddy, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack, Ralph Goings, Ron Kleeman, Richard McLean, John Salt, and Ben Schonzeit. Organized by the University of Richmond Museums, the exhibition is made possible in part with the generous support of the University’s Cultural Affairs Committee and funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund. The exhibition is on view at the Marsh Art Gallery, University Museums, January 23 to March 5, 2004. The exhibition will travel to the Piedmont Arts Association, Martinsville, Virginia, the Radford University Art Museum, Radford, Virginia; Rahr West Art Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin; and the Daura Gallery, Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia. An exhibition catalogue, published by the University of Richmond Museums, will be available.