Exhibit to Focus on Art of the 1980s

The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (HVCCA) will present an exhibition, CIRCA 1986, from Sept. 18, 2011, through July 2012 with an opening reception Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011, from 4 to 7 p.m.

CIRCA 1986 - The '80s from Six Important New York Art Collections will feature 70 artworks from more than 40 international artists who emerged with significant work in the extremely prosperous and exciting period between 1981 and 1991. The exhibition attempts to capture a decade, a momentous game-changing time that started in a rush and ended with the collapse of the art market.

It is seen from the perspective of six New York-based couples who, over much of the past 50 years, spent considerable effort building important art collections, each independent of advisers, each extremely diligent and each original.

The art scene of New York in the 1980s opened with a roar, with brash plate paintings by Julian Schnabel and huge works by Anselm Kiefer. New collectors flooded in as interests and directions shifted rapidly. Everything was "neo" – neo-expressionism, neo-Geo, neo-surrealism – and prices soared. By 1986 Jasper Johns' painting "Out the Window" went for a then-astronomic amount of a couple of million dollars in auction at Sotheby's.

There were many new artists of apparent consequence – among them Jeff Koons, Robert Gober, John Duff and James Brown. Contemporary art had established a post-modern pluralism in which literally anything was possible. The East Village in New York, with its storefront and club culture of the time, was the epicenter of this artistic production. Art had gradually become part of mass culture.

Galleries and art magazines were founded in response to the new demand. Museums opened in every major city throughout the United States and corporations started to build their own art collections. There was quick trend after quick trend, and curators, museums and collectors were anointing one artist after another as the newest and greatest.

Circa 1986 is not a comprehensive exhibit but one that hopefully tells a meaningful story about an extraordinary decade in contemporary art as seen through the eyes of several significant collectors. It is an independent and personal take on this period, and the inclusions from each collector are of artists they felt, and continue to feel, made inventive and important work at that time.

The exhibition was curated by John Newsom (New York-based painter), Nicola Trezzi (U.S. editor of Flash Art International) and Astrid Honold (director of Office For Contemporary Art, Amsterdam). A richly illustrated catalog includes excerpts from discussions with the collectors selected by Honold as well as essays by Trezzi and Newsom. The foreword is by Marc Straus, HVCCA board chairman.
Artists included in the exhibition: Gregory Amenoff, Richard Artschwager, Ashley Bickerton, Ross Bleckner, Christian Boltanski, Jonathan Borofsky, James Brown, Sarah Charlesworth, Clegg & Guttman, Walter Dahn, Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Moira Dryer, John Duff, Nancy Dwyer, Barbara Ess, R.M. Fischer, Gilbert & George, Robert Gober, Antony Gormley, Dieter Hacker, Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Roni Horn, Mike Kelley, Anselm Kiefer, Win Knowlton, Jeff Koons, Paul Laster, Sherrie Levine, Robert Mapplethorpe, Allan McCollum, Mark Morrisroe, Elizabeth Murray, Bruce Nauman, Joel Otterson, Rona Pondick, Richard Prince, Rick Prol, David Robbins, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., David Row, Julian Schnabel, Peter Schuyff, Jessica Stockholder, John Walker, David Wojnarowicz.

The HVCCA, which opened its doors to the public in June 2004, focuses on contextualizing current trends in contemporary art. Its exhibits have been highly regarded with visitors coming from around the globe. HVCCA is also focused on the education of its local and regional community and participation in the betterment of Peekskill, a multicultural riverfront city with a large presence of artists.

CIRCA 1986 is made possible with the support of ArtsWestchester in White Plains. For more information please contact Jessica Denaro at the HVCCA, 1701 Main St., Peekskill, 914-788-0100 or online at JessicaDenaro@hvcca.org or www.hvcca.org