Exhibition A proudly unveils its second collaboration with the inimitable Katherine Bernhardt, with the effervescent "Magic Mushrooms" series. This new collection was inspired by a painting featured in Bernhardt's 2022 exhibition "Why is a mushroom growing in my shower?" at David Zwirner, London, and features two bean bags, each a canvas for Bernhardt's vibrant art.
About the Work
Exhibition A proudly unveils its second collaboration with the inimitable Katherine Bernhardt, with the effervescent "Magic Mushrooms" series. This new collection was inspired by a painting featured in Bernhardt's 2022 exhibition "Why is a mushroom growing in my shower?" at David Zwirner, London, and features two bean bags, each a canvas for Bernhardt's vibrant art.
The standard-sized bean bag and its jumbo counterpart, spacious enough to cradle two to three individuals, are adorned with imagery that is quintessentially Bernhardt—bold, spontaneous, and teeming with color. These functional art pieces encapsulate motifs from Bernhardt's eclectic visual lexicon, drawn from both pop culture and the pulsating life around her.
In “Magic Mushrooms”, the fantastical meets the practical, illustrating Bernhardt's signature approach to art. It's a realm where everyday objects and pop icons coexist in a joyous riot of hues, free from the constraints of hierarchy or conventional composition.
The designs hark back to Bernhardt’s diverse influences, from the tropical vibrancy of Puerto Rico to the intricate patterns of Moroccan rugs and West African fabrics, all while nodding to art historical giants like Matisse and the Pattern and Decoration movement.
Each bean bag serves as a celebration of Bernhardt's dynamic process and her fearless embrace of free association, where Crocs, cartoon characters, and now, mushrooms, find a harmonious existence. They are a testament to the artist's playful engagement with the absurd and the relevant—echoing a return to mycological motifs in contemporary culture and a commentary on comfort's intersection with fashion during the pandemic.
In sync with Bernhardt's ethos, the "Magic Mushrooms" bean bags are a reminder that art need not hang solemnly on walls but can spill into our everyday spaces, inviting us to sit back and revel in the sheer exuberance of life as seen through the artist's eyes. These pieces are not just functional; they are invitations to enter Bernhardt's world, where the boundary between art and life is joyously blurred.
Artist Biography
Katherine Bernhardt, born in 1975 in St. Louis, Missouri, is celebrated for her vibrant and kinetic paintings that burst with color and life. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BFA, 1998) and the School of Visual Arts, New York (MFA, 2000), Bernhardt's work defies traditional painting norms, offering canvases that are liberated from the constraints of illusion and perspective. Her art is characterized by a raw, poetic spontaneity, and a penchant for combining disparate motifs from pop culture and everyday life, reflecting a profound yet playful free associative process. Bernhardt’s career is marked by notable exhibitions and significant public installations that have cemented her reputation as a force in contemporary art. Select solo and group exhibitions include shows with David Zwirner (Hong Kong, London), Canada (New York), Nanzuka (Tokyo), among many others. Work by the artist is found in prominent public and museum collections worldwide, including The Brant Foundation, New York; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; Knoxville Museum of Art, Tennessee; Portland Museum of Art, Maine; Rubell Museum, Miami; and the San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas. Bernhardt lives and works in St. Louis.
Authentication & Resale
Each bean bag ships with a tag with the artist's printed signature affixed to it.
Shippings & Returns
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