{"id":364,"date":"2012-11-21T11:43:36","date_gmt":"2012-11-21T16:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=364"},"modified":"2012-11-21T11:43:37","modified_gmt":"2012-11-21T16:43:37","slug":"george-mauersberger-at-bonfoey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/george-mauersberger-at-bonfoey\/","title":{"rendered":"George Mauersberger at Bonfoey"},"content":{"rendered":"

I walked into the George Mauersberger<\/a>\u00a0exhibit at Bonfoey<\/a>\u00a0expecting to see a passel of prints.\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 While a few prints are on display, drawings and watercolors make up the lion\u2019s share of the show. \u00a0Even so, Mauersberger has a printmaker\u2019s personality\u2014a love of process and fondness for drawing.<\/p>\n

Most of the pieces on display are tromp l’oeil treatments of leather jackets (somehow related to Springsteen and the Ramones, according to the artist\u2019s statement\u2014whatever), like this one:<\/p>\n

\"Work<\/a>
Mauersberger Piece<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The front-on, laconic treatment of impersonal objects reminds me of\u00a0 Jim Dine, among many others, as in this work:<\/p>\n

\"Jim<\/a>
Work by Jim Dine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While most of the works show objects intimately related to people, the human form is not found.<\/p>\n

The tromp l’oeil approach has been around\u2014literally\u2014forever. \u00a0For example, look at this 18th Century French still life.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
French School 18th Century tompe l’ oeil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

OK, Mauersberger\u2019s work is not original\u2014is that my point?\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 I am not one of those art world snobs who pretend originality is the only, or even the most important, consideration.\u00a0 God forbid!<\/p>\n

You could argue (I won\u2019t but you could) that everything has been done before and worrying about originality is a non-starter.\u00a0 Another view (and one I share) is to take any starting point you like, then dig-in for all you\u2019re worth.\u00a0 Seen this way, nothing has been done and all is fresh and new; seen this way, the mundane is the springboard into adventure and discovery.\u00a0 I think of this whenever I see a Papa Cezanne.<\/p>\n

Mauersberger is indifferent to subject matter (unless one-off references hold his interest; let\u2019s give him more credit than that).\u00a0 The actual subject here, anyway, is process\u2014is art making.<\/p>\n

I enjoy art making\u2014love everything about it\u2014so a show filled with art world references and puns is fine with me.\u00a0 But for a show about process, too much of what\u2019s on display is about self-conscious, professional art making ( he is Chair of the Art Dept at Cleveland State U.)\u00a0which has nothing whatsoever to do with actual\u2014for the sheer joy of it, you can\u2019t stop me come hell or high-water\u2014art making.\u00a0 Too much of what\u2019s on display appears like a job or chore or obligation.<\/p>\n

What I just wrote is true for most but not all of the exhibition.\u00a0 It\u2019s as if there are two shows here.\u00a0 One burdened with \u2018professional\u2019 trompe l’oeil drawings (not enough trompe or not enough l’oeil, however), and one with colorful watercolors.\u00a0 The best pieces\u2014by far and away\u2014are the playful watercolors, like this one (sorry for the dreadful photo):<\/p>\n

\"George<\/a>
Mauersberger Watercolor<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One hopes the freedom and playfulness seen in the watercolors is the artist’s current direction.<\/p>\n

The photos are mine but the works are copyright\u00a0Mauersberger and Bonfoey.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I walked into the George Mauersberger\u00a0exhibit at Bonfoey\u00a0expecting to see a passel of prints.\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 While a few prints are on display, drawings and watercolors make up the lion\u2019s share of the show. \u00a0Even so, Mauersberger has a printmaker\u2019s personality\u2014a love of process and fondness for drawing. Most of the pieces on display are tromp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,76,46],"tags":[78,81,77,80,79],"class_list":["post-364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artists","category-galleries","category-reviews","tag-bonfoey","tag-cezanne","tag-george-mauersberger","tag-jim-dine","tag-trompe-loeil"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2786,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/11\/phooey-on-bonfoey\/","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":0},"title":"Phooey on Bonfoey!","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 15, 2013","format":"aside","excerpt":"Bonfoey keeps its door locked so visitors have to wait to be buzzed into the gallery. 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Gaertner was born in Cleveland and lived in and around there until his death. \u00a0He taught for many years at the Cleveland Institute\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Gaertner: oil","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/gaertner-winter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/gaertner-winter.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/gaertner-winter.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":96,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/stephen-pentak-at-bonfoey\/","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":4},"title":"Stephen Pentak at Bonfoey","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"October 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bonfoey Gallery (1700 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH) is the kind of establishment I adore: it's an art gallery in the business of showing real, contemporary artists. \u00a0Places like it are rare outside New York City, and I tip my hat to them. \u00a0I make a point of visiting every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2428,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/07\/rip-joseph-osickey\/","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":5},"title":"RIP Joseph O’Sickey","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"July 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"NE Ohio Joseph O'Sickey died Monday at the age of 94. 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