The WSU Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art will present the exhibition “Social Space,” featuring abstract works from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his family foundation, beginning Tuesday, Jan. 15.
On view through March 16, the exhibition will be located in the Bruce/Floyd and Borth Galleries. The exhibitions at the museum are free and open to the public.
“Social Space” brings together the work of four American artists: Mark Bradford, Leonardo Drew, Julie Mehretu and Wangechi Mutu. In their commitment to abstract art their works depict issues of labor, race and conflict, and highlight sociopolitical markers, visual remnants of collective experience and the social fabric from which they emerged.
The term ‘Social Abstraction’ has been associated with Bradford’s practice of combining society’s ephemera with the now 100‑year‑old genre of abstraction. Bradford’s art reflects “the white noise out there in the streets,” using the discarded materials of urban life.
Drew’s paper casts employ processes of weathering, decay and absence.
Mehretu’s works resemble complex maps of social networks, upheaval and human migration.
Mutu’s dismembered relic‑like forms evoke past violence and conflict.
The featured works in this exhibition span a period of time from 2003 to 2018 and demonstrate a broad range of printmaking techniques, from intaglio and lithography to pigmented paper casts. In addition, sculptural multiples have been included for this special exhibition.
About the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation
At age 14, Jordan D. Schnitzer bought his first work of art from his mother’s Portland, Oregon, contemporary art gallery, evolving into a lifelong avocation as collector. He began collecting contemporary prints and multiples in earnest in 1988.
Today, the collection exceeds 13,000 works and includes many of today’s most important contemporary artists. It has grown to be one of the country’s largest private print collections. The foundation has organized over 110 exhibitions and has had art exhibited at over 150 museums. For more information, visit the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation website.
Media Contacts:
- Debby Stinson, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, 509‑335‑6282, debby_stinson@wsu.edu
- Anna‑Maria Shannon, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU, 509‑335‑6140, annamshannon@wsu.edu
