Allan GRAHAM
(San Francisco, 1943 - Albuquerque, 2019)
Allan Graham, che a volte usava il nome Toadhouse, è stato un artista americano contemporaneo residente in New Mexico. Il suo lavoro comprendeva scultura, pittura, poesia e video.
Graham ha studiato al San Francisco Art Institute e alla San Jose State University prima di trasferirsi ad Albuquerque, nel New Mexico, dove ha conseguito il diploma in Fine Arts presso l'Università del New Mexico (1967).
I suoi primi dipinti erano griglie simili a muri che, a metà e alla fine degli anni Settanta, si sono trasformati in composizioni più aperte con archi ampi e motivi a spina di pesce.
Nel 1983 abbandona le tele di forma convenzionale a favore di forme eccentriche e inizia a lasciare le barre del telaio esposte. A metà degli anni Ottanta si è evoluto in una serie di ibridi pittura-scultura, utilizzando legno, tela, giornali e pagine di libri, che ricordano alcune opere africane. Seguono quasi monocromi su tele piegate, sculture fatte di libri e dipinti circolari irregolari che utilizzano pagine di libri provenienti da fonti come una Bibbia Navajo e l'Inferno di Dante.
Negli anni Novanta ha dipinto una serie intitolata "Cave of Generation", composta da gradini che conducono a grandi dipinti monocromi e bicolori. A questi segue una serie intitolata "Pre-hung (for those who suffer form)", che consiste in porte singole e doppie dipinte con una spatola.
Nel 1990 le sue opere hanno iniziato a essere firmate con lo pseudonimo di Toadhouse, che deriva da una struttura sotterranea costruita da lui e dal figlio ad Albuquerque, nel New Mexico, per attirare i rospi. Queste opere sono basate sulla parola. In una serie ha incollato adesivi per paraurti con slogan simili a haiku su paraurti di auto ricromati. Nelle serie Cosmo-logica e UFO ha utilizzato parole minuscole scritte in grafite.
Il critico d'arte John Yau ha dichiarato: "Credo che nel suo lavoro ci sia un'incredibile compressione che dobbiamo disfare e, mentre la disfacciamo, dobbiamo fare i conti con il nostro senso di ciò che queste parole significano per noi o come hanno un aspetto della nostra abitudine di pensare, e poi forse smontarla un po'".
Oltre alle opere d'arte, sono stati pubblicati due libri di poesie da Toadhouse: Shit Floats Life Goes On (Toadhouse, 1990) e Visual Eyes, Translations from Toadhouse (Ethan J. Wagner, San Francisco, 1991). Le sue poesie sono apparse anche in In Company, un'antologia di poeti del Nuovo Messico dopo il 1960 (University of New Mexico Press, 2004).
MOSTRE PERSONALI SELEZIONATE
2021
“You Are Standing Exactly Where Meaning Is," 5. Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2019
“What Makes the Wave Break?” 5. Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2013 “Toadhouse (a.k.a.Allan Graham) Any Position Limits the View, (We Are Only Here for a Spell)” David Richard Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
“Why is Reality a Word,” Diet Gallery, Miami, Florida
2007
“Shit is a sure sign of life,” Feature Inc. New York City, New York
2004
"Ideo-gram," James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2001
"life would be a shame left to description," Toadhouse, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, 2000 Arizona
"AS REAL as thinking," Allan Graham/TH, SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico
"Allan Graham/TH - UFO Paintings and Drawings," James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1995
"UFO Paintings and Drawings," Barry Whistler Gallery, Dallas, Texas
1994
"Allan Graham, Cairns and Paintings from the Cave of Generation and Poems from
Toadhouse," The Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1993
Toadhouse TIDE-Allan Graham Pre-hung," Kathleen Shields Contemporary Art Projects,
Albuquerque, New Mexico
1992
"Pre- hung," Fawbush Gallery, New York, New York
"Pre- hung," Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, California
1990
"Cave of Generation," Fisher Landau Center, Long Island City, New York
"Cave of Generation," Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, California
"Toadhouse," Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, California
1989
"Shit Floats" Toadhouse, Raw Space, Albuquerque, New Mexico
1988
"Drawings," Graham Gallery (no relation), Albuquerque, New Mexico
1987
Klein Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1986
Craig Cornelius Gallery, New York
Klein Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1985
Klein Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1984 Craig Cornelius Gallery, New York
Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Craig Cornelius Gallery, New York Klein Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
MOSTRE COLLETTIVE SELEZIONATE
2023
CrossWords, Osart Gallery, Milan
2021
“Balancing Act”, Charlotte Jackson Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2020
“Visual Limits,” 5. Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2019
“Celebrating 30 Years", Charlotte Jackson Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2017
"John Connell-Allan Graham, Old Friends Together Again OPEN For Business,” Exhibit 208, Albuquerque, NM
2013
“Come Together: Surviving Sandy,” Brooklyn, NY
2009
“Five Decades of Passion, part 2, The Foundation of the Center 1989-91” Fisher Landau Center,Long Island City, New York
“WORD”, William Shearburn Gallery, Saint Louis, Missouri “From The Panza Collection”, Bocconi University, Milano, Italy
2008
“Frank Andre Jamm & Toadhouse”, Feature Inc. New York
“The Natalie & Irving Foreman Collection”, (Drawings) Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
2007
“From the Panza Collection”, Alicante, Spain
“Block Party 2,” Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, California
2005
"The Natalie and Irving Foreman Collection," Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York 2003 "AUTO - NON", NRW Forum. Dusseldorf, Germany
2002
"In The Details" Gallery Schlesinger, New York, N.Y.
2000
Villa Menafoglio Litta Panza,”, Varese, Italy, (inauguration exhibition, permanent installation)
"The Panza Di Biumo Collection, Works from the 80's and 90's," American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy
1999
“The Art of Drawing”, James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico
"Text," Grant/Selwyn, New York, New York
"That Certain Look," University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1997
“The Panza di Biumo Donation to the Museo Cantonale d' Arte," Lugano, Switzerland
1996
"The Collection of Panza di Biumo, Artists of the 80s and 90s," Museo D' Arte Moderna E,Contemporanea Trento and Roveretto, Italy
1994
"Other Choices / Other Voices," Islip Art Museum, Islip, New York
"Casting Ideas," College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico
"Panza Di Biumo, The Eighties and the Nineties, From the Collection", Museo Cantonale D`Arte, Lugano, Switzerland
"Selections from the Phillips Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico 1991
"Squaresville," Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, California
"Interrogating the Essence," Works by Allan Graham and Stuart Arends, University of Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
1990
"Inter-Disciplines," The Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe New Mexico 1989 "The Case for Plywood," Luise Ross Gallery, New York
"The Elusive Surface," Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico "New Acquisitions," Museum of Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico "Modern Masterworks," Museum of Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
1988
Hoshour Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico Craig Cornelius Gallery, New York
1987
"Uncommon Ground," The Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico "Phoenix Biennial." Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
"Beckman, Graham, Nonas," Craig Cornelius Gallery, New York
1986
"New Mexico Selections," The College of Santa Fe, New Mexico "Architectural Images in Art," Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia "July." Craig Cornelius Gallery, New York
"In the Space of Ten Years," University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, "The Extended Line," Museum of Fine Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico "Drawings," Janet Steinberg Gallery, San Francisco, California
1985
Craig Cornelius Gallery, New York
American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York
"Artists from the Klein Gallery," Wesleyan University, Illinois
"Acquisitions Exhibition," Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
"Constructures: New Perimetrics in Abstract Paintings," Nohra Haime Gallery, New York
"The 38th Corcoran Biennial of American Painting," Corcoran Museum, Washington, (travelling exhibition)
"Heide Gluck, Maria Gooding, Allan Graham," Craig Cornelius Gallery, New York "Artists from New Mexico," San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, California “15 Artists," Klein Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Craig Cornelius Gallery, New York
COLLEZIONI PUBBLICHE
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York Villa Menafoglio Litta Panza, Varese, Italy Museo Cantonale D’ Arte, Lugano, Switzerland
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
The Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, New Mexico
Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, Texas
Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, Texas