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FCG International Arts Award 2002: James Rosenquist
The Jury of the FCG International Arts Award, in a meeting in Valladolid and composed of the following distinguished personalities: Mrs. María Jesús Abad, Mr. José Antonio Álvarez-Gundín, Mr. Salvador Andrés Ordax, Mr. Rafael Canogar, and Mr. Antón García-Abril Ruiz, under the chair of Mrs. María Jesús Abad with Mr. Salvador Andrés Ordax, as secretary, decided by majority vote to award the FCG International Arts Prize to: JAMES ROSENQUIST, for his contribution to contemporary art with special reference to the pop-art movement and his constant search of different expressive ways and new aesthetic values.
James Rosenquist
1933 Born November 29 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Parents Louis and Ruth Rosenquist, of Swedish and Norwegian descent. Family settles in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1942.
1948 Wins junior high school scholarship to study art at the Minneapolis School of Art at the Minneapolis Art Institute.
1952-54 Attends the University of Minnesota, and studies with Cameron Booth. Visits the Art Institute of Chicago to study old master and 19th-century paintings. Paints storage bins, grain elevators, gasoline tanks, and signs during the summer. Works for General Outdoor Advertising, Minneapolis, and paints commercial billboards.
1955 Receives scholarship to the Art Students League, New York, and studies with Morris Kantor, George Grosz, and Edwin Dickinson.
1957-59 Becomes a member of the Sign, Pictorial and Display Union, Local 230. Employed by A.H. Villepigue, Inc., General Outdoor Advertising, Brooklyn, New York, and Artkraft Strauss Sign Corporation. Paints billboards in the Times Square area and other locations in New York.
1960 Quits working for Artkraft Strauss Sign Corporation. Rents a loft at 3-5 Coenties Slip; neighbours include the painters Jack Youngerman, Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, Robert Indiana, Lenore Tawney, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Barnett Newman, and the poet Oscar Williamson.
1961 Paints Zone (1960-61), his first studio painting to employ commercial painting techniques and fragmented advertising imagery.
1962 Has first solo exhibition at the Green Gallery, New York, which he joined in 1961. Early collectors include Robert C. Scull, Count Giuseppe Paza di Biurno, Richard Brown Baker, and Burton and Emily Tremaine.
1963 Paints mural commissioned by Philip Johnson for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, New York State Pavilion. Exhibits in New York in Americans 1963 at the Museum of Modern Art in Six Painters and the Object at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
1964 Joins the Loo Castelli Gallery, New York. Exhibits with the Galerie Ileana Sonnabend, Paris, France, and the Galleria Gian Enzo Sperone, Turin, Italy. Begins working on lithographs at Universal Limited Art Editions, West Islip, Long Island.
1965 Exhibits F-111 (1964-65), a site-specific wrap-around painting, in his first solo show at the Leo Castelli Gallery, New York (April-May) and then at the Jewish Museum, New York (June-September). Robert C. Scull purchases F-111, and it tours eight major European museums through 1967.
1966 Begins a series of walk-through, ceiling-suspended paintings on clear polyester film (Mylar).
1967 Moves to Long Island, New York. Exhibits a room of polyester film paintings including Forest Ranger (1967) at the Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy. F-111 is exhibited at the 9th Sao Paulo biennial, Brazil.
1968 Has first retrospective exhibition, at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. F-111 is exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Forest Ranger group of paintings is exhibited at the Galerie Ileana Sonnabend, Paris.
1969 Exhibits his second site-specific wrap-around painting Horse blinders (1968-69) at the Leo Castelli Gallery, New York. F-111 is exhibited at the Hayward Gallery, London, England.
1970 Exhibits an installation of painted and reflective panels with dry ice fog, Horizon Home Sweet Home (1970), and the paintings Area Code (1970) and Flamingo Capsule (1970) at the Leo Castelli Gallery.
1971 Works on the Cold Light Suite of pints at the University of South Florida’s Graphic studio in Tampa, Florida.
1972 Has retrospective exhibitions at the Wallfaf-Richartz-Museums, Cologne, Germany; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois.
1973 Rents studio in Ybor City, Florida.
1974 Lobbies in Washington, D.C., with Marion Javits and Robert Rauschenberg for legislation protecting artists’ rights.
1976 Builds a house and studio with the architect Gilbert Flores in Aripeka, Florida. Receives a commission from the State of Florida for two murals for the new state capitol building in Tallahassee.
1977 Purchases building on Chambers Street, New York. Paints a number of 15-foot works in Florida for exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery, 420 West Broadway, New York.
1978 Receives appointment to six-year term as member of the National Council on the Arts, Washington, D.C. F-111 is exhibited at the 38th Venice Biennale, Italy.
1980 Paints Star Thief (1980), the first of five 17`x 46’ paintings.
1981 Exhibits Star Thief at the Leo Castelli Gallery, 142 Greene St., New York (January-February). Dade County Art in Public Places Committee selects Star Thief for a concourse at the Miami International Airport, Florida, but controversy with Eastern Airlines over the painting prevents its acquisition.
1982 Exhibits the painting Four New Clear Women (1982), 17’ x 46’, at Leo Castelli Gallery, 142 Greene St., New York. Receives commission to paint a 71/2, x 24’ mural, Flowers, Fish and Females for the Four Seasons (1984), for the Four Seasons Restaurant, New York.
1983 Completes a new studio in Aripeka, Florida, Exhibits Star Thief at the Centre for the Fine Arts, Miami, Florida.
1985 Retrospective exhibition, organized by and originating at the Denver Art Museum, Colorado, travels until 1987 to the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas; Des Moines Art Centre, Iowa; The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Exhibits the 17’ x 46’ painting The Persistence of Electrical Nymphs in Space (1985) at the Leo Castelli Gallery, 142 Greene St., New York.
1986 F-111, the largest artwork auctioned to date, is sold at Sotheby’s from the estate of Robert C. Scull for $2.09 million.
1987 Is nominated and inducted into the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York.
1988 Receives the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. Nashville, Tennessee. Exhibits the painting Through the Eye of the Needle to the Anvil (1988), 17’ x 46’, at the Leo Castelli Gallery, 142 Greene St. New York.
1991 Has retrospective exhibitions at the Central Hall of Artists, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, U.S.S.R. and at the IVAM Centre Julio González, Valencia, Spain.
1992 Exhibits a selection of paintings executed in the early 1960s in The Early Pictures 1961-1964 at the Gagosian Gallery, New York. Has solo exhibitions at the Galería Weber, Alexander y Cobo, Madrid, Spain and the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France.
1993 A retrospective of graphics, Time Dust, Complete Graphics: 1962-1992, travels to twelve venues in the United States. Has exhibitions of recent paintings at the Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, and the Gallery Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg, Austria. Exhibits a selection of the Gift Wrapped Doll series of paintings at Feigen Incorporate, Chicago, Illinois.
1994 An exhibition commemorating his 30-year association with the art dealer Leo Castelli is held at the Leo Castelli Gallery, New York, accompained by the publication of the book The Big Paintings, Thirty Years. Has a solo exhibition at Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore.
1995 Has solo exhibitions at the PYO Gallery, Seoul, South Korea and the Civico Museo Revoltella, Trieste, Italy. Star Thief is acquired by the Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany, Flowers, Fish and Females for the Four Seasons is acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Begins a series of hand-colours paper constructions.
1996 Exhibits new gun painting in solo exhibition at the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, and Salzburg, Austria, and at Feigen Incorporated, Chicago. New Paper Constructions is shown at Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, California. F-111 is acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
1997 Singapore series of three large paintings is shown at the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, and new works are exhibited at the Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore.
1998 The Swimmer in the Econo-mist paintings are exhibited at the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin, Germany. After Berlin: New Paintings exhibition is held at Feigen Contemporary, New York. Begins the Speed of Light series of paintings.
1999 Has solo exhibitions entitled Meteors: New Paintings at the Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, Colorado. The Swimmer in the Econo-mist is shown at the June inaugural exhibition of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, Massachusetts.
2000 Has an exhibitions at the Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida, entitled James Rosenquist: Paintings/James Rosenquist: Selects Dalí.
2001 Has solo exhibition including the 17’ x 46’ painting The Stowaway Peers Out at the Speed of Light (2000) and other Speed of Light paintings at the Gagosian Gallery, New York.
2002 A major retrospective of paintings, drawings, sculpture, graphics and collages is currently being organized by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
AWARDS RECEIVED BY JAMES ROSEQUIST
66TH ANNUAL MEDAL FOR PAINTING
55 the annual American Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, 1963
Awarded for A lot to Like (1962)
PRIX DI TELLA
Premio International de Pintura, Instituto Torcuato di Tella, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1965 Awarded for Painting for the American Negro (1962-63)
FRIEND OF JAPAN AWARD
Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai (Japanese Society for International Cultural Relations), 1970
Appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the NATIONAL COUNCIL ON THE ARTS Served 1978-1983
HONORARY DOCTOR OF THE FINE ARTS
University of the South Florida, Tampa, 1981
WORLD PRINT AWARD
World Print Council, San Francisco, California, 1983
FLORIDA AMBASSADOR OF THE ARTS AWARD
Florida department of State and the Florida arts Council
Awarded May 6, 1987 by Secretary of State George Firestone
THE GOLDEN PLATE AWARD
American Academy of Achievement, Nashville, Tennessee, July 2, 1988
THE FLORIDA PRIZE
Awarded by the New York Times Regional Newspaper, June 27, 1991
CHEVALIER L’ORDRE DES ARTS ET LETTERS
Awarded by Jack Lang, Ministre de la culture de la communication, France, 1992
SKOWHEGAN MEDAL IN PAINTING
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine, 1994
HONORARY DOCTORATE IN FINE ARTS DEGREE
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, may 24, 1997
FLORIDA ARTIST HALL OF FAME
Florida Department of State and the Florida Arts Council
Inducted June 14, 2001
HONORARY DOCTOR OF HUMANE LETTERS
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, May 19, 2002
James Rosenquist - Museum Collections (partial listing)
Allbright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Ohio
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Art Institute of Chicago
The Baltimore Museum of Art
The Bernardo Collection, Sintra Museum of Modern Art, Portugal
Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida
The Brooklyn Museum
The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia
The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of the Art, Washington, D.C
Dallas Museum of Art
De Cordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincon
The Detroit Institute of Arts
Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin
Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Centre, Vassar College
Greenville County Museum of Art, South Carolina
Grunwald Centre for the Graphic Arts, Armand Hammer Museum of Art, UCLA
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University
High Museum of Art, Atlanta
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution
Hofstra Museum, Hofstra University
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
IVAM, Centre Julio González, Valencia, Spain
Iwaki City Art Museum, Japan
Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld, Germany
The Kreeger Museum, Washington, D.C.
Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Switzerland
The Menil Collection, Houston
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Miami Art Museum of Dade County, Florida
Moderna Museet, Stockholm
Museé d´ Art Moderne et d´ Art Contemporain, Nice, France
Museé National d´ Art Moderne, Centre George Pompidou, Paris
Museo Thyssen - Bornemisza, Madrid
Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt
Museum Ludwig, Cologne
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
The Nelson – Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
New Orleans Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Phoenix Art Museum
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
The St. Louis Art Museum
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California
Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas, Lawrence
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Tate Gallery, London
The Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio
University Art Museum, University of Minnesota
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut
Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis
Washington Art Consortium
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Yale University Art Gallery