N E W S R E L E A S E Contact: Emma Jacobson-Sive
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 626-568-3665
R. Kenton Nelson: Rhyme and Reason/Prose and Cons
November 4, 2005 – March 19, 2006
The Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) is pleased to announce the opening of R. Kenton Nelson: Rhyme and Reason/Prose and Cons. This exhibition of 24 paintings by Nelson heralds his first museum exhibition and includes a two volume full color catalog. Saturated with deep, luscious colors, Nelson’s scenes of nostalgic Americana seduce viewers while their enigmatic titles reveal a slyer intent. His work has been featured in many publications, including four New Yorker covers, and his devoted collector base includes creative luminaries such as Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and Dean Koontz.
Nelson’s paintings are known and appreciated for their precision and perfection, but also display a self-consciousness that acknowledges the inherent improbability of this idealistic world. Stylistically, he is informed by the American Regionalists and the Mexican Muralists as well as mid 20th century mass produced advertising images. He also finds inspiration in works of literature by American writers F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Cheever, in addition to unlikely sources such as Mother Goose nursery rhymes, which, like Nelson’s paintings, often marry prosaic and innocent sentiment with ominous undertones.
While Nelson’s work incorporates hints of pathos for its narrative ends, the overall effect of the art is to reveal the beauty inherent in the ordinary. For the artist, the lost sense of optimism in today’s society compels him to recapture a feeling of hope in his paintings.
R. Kenton Nelson: Rhyme and Reason/Prose and Cons opens at the PMCA on November 5, 2005 and remains on view until March 19, 2006. This exhibition at the PMCA opens in conjunction with another exhibition of R. Kenton Nelson’s paintings at the Reynolds Gallery at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, which will open on November 10, 2005.
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Page 2 – Pasadena Museum of California Art
R.Kenton Nelson: Rhyme and Reason/Prose and Cons
Exhibition Information
What R.Kenton Nelson: Rhyme and Reason/Prose and Cons
When November 4, 2005 – March 19, 2006
Hours Wed. – Sun. 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Where 490 E Union St. Pasadena, CA. 91101
Admission $6, $4 Seniors/Students
Parking Free in the museum garage
Phone 626.568.3665
URL www.pmcaonline.org
Opening Event
Friday, November 4, 2005, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Opening reception for R.Kenton Nelson: Rhyme and Reason/Prose and Cons, Real Estate: Paintings by Jeff Koegel. Also on view An American Impressionist: The Art and Life of Alson Clark and Fun, California Style
Free