The Gibbes Museum of Art will exhibit a collection of works by former 1858 Prize finalist, Damian Stamer, from March 17 – Oct. 15, 2023. Damian Stamer: Ruminations showcases new works by the contemporary painter depicting barns, abandoned buildings and other vernacular structures from the rural South, often in large scale. The exhibit will be on display in the museum’s second-floor galleries.
“We are excited to welcome back one of our former 1858 Prize finalists and exhibit a collection of his works that furthers the museum’s identified content theme of innovation,” says Angela Mack, executive director of the Gibbes Museum of Art. “This exhibition considers how new technologies and modes of expression influence traditional approaches to painting and examines the intersection of past and present.”
Based in Durham, N.C., Stamer depicts architectural forms reminiscent of his childhood memories of the South. The heavily layered surfaces of his large-scale paintings blur the line between abstraction and representation, as they seek to express the solemn beauty of the old and overlooked. Ruminations examines themes of memory and impermanence through formal and conceptual approaches and pushes the boundaries of the use of technology in art. The exhibition includes a selection of paintings informed by the use of artificial intelligence. Rather than using photos as a source material, the artist used an artificial intelligence text-to-image generator to create source imagery, resulting in innovative paintings titled the Collaboration series.
The Gibbes will host a special tour of Ruminations on Friday, March 17 from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m., led by artist Damian Stamer. Visitors will get a more in-depth look at the exhibition with the opportunity to ask questions to the artist himself. This tour is free for members and included with museum admission for non-members.
For images, visit https://bit.ly/3GRwdFl. For more information about Damian Stamer: Ruminations, visit www.gibbesmuseum.org.
Published March 2023
Top image: Damian Stamer. Photo by MCG Photography