Oklahoma Contemporary
Installation view of The Art of Food
Several black, white, gray and yellow prints of lemons hang with a pink and yellow print of cows in the background. A logo in the lower left reads "The Art of Food: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation."

The Art of Food

The Art of Food: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation

Feb. 2 – May 22, 2023
Eleanor Kirkpatrick Main Gallery

A porcelain figurine depicting a woman on all fours on a table with food. A man and another woman sit at either end of the table. A still life featuring fruit is in the background.
Chris Antemann's Covet (2013).

Food is more than sustenance. It is a source of pleasure, an excuse to gather and a form of art that evolves as quickly as our tastes demand. The Art of Food: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation featured more than 100 artworks by 36 well-known contemporary artists highlighting the subject of food. Included were artworks by some of the biggest names in the field, including John Baldessari, Jenny Holzer, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg and Lorna Simpson, and media such as painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture and ceramics. Whether celebratory or critical, each work presented a different, nuanced perspective on the central place food holds in everyday life.

A stack of cans in the style of Campbell's next to a box. A black and white photo is visible in the backgorund.
Enrique Chagoya's The Enlightened Savage (2002) and Lorna Simpson's C-Ration (1991).

The Art of Food presented an opportunity for Oklahomans to consider where their food is from, as well as the ways in which food and society inform one another. Farming is an integral part of Oklahoma’s history and character. The ethos of working hard and putting food on the table resonates with the region’s culture and self-image. At the same time, immigrants from all over the world — particularly Mexico and Vietnam — bring culinary traditions that enliven Oklahoma’s social landscape. At a time when politics surrounding food — its production, regulation and distribution — dovetail with questions about land use, climate change and animal welfare, The Art of Food challenged audiences to think beyond food as sustenance. The exhibition invited viewers to think of food as a language used to depict the dynamic and insatiable social lives of people around the world.

ARTISTS

Katherine Ace (American, b. 1953)
Neal Ambrose-Smith
(Native American, Salish, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, b. 1966)
Chris Antemann
(American, b. 1970)
John Baldessari
(American; 1931-2020)
Joseph Beuys (German, 1912-86)
Enrique Chagoya
(American, born Mexico, b. 1953)
Corwin Clairmont
(Native American, Salish-Kootenai, b. 1946)
Warrington Colescott
(American, 1921-2018)
Robert Cottingham
(American, b. 1935)
Abraham Cruzvillegas
(Mexican, b. 1968)
Richard Estes
(American, b. 1936)
David Gilhooly
(American, 1943-2013)
Robert Gober
(American, b. 1954)
Red Grooms
(American, b. 1937)
Damien Hirst
(British, b. 1965)
David Hockney
(British, b. 1937)
Jenny Holzer
(American, b. 1950)
Malia Jensen
(American, b. 1966)
Jasper Johns
(American, b. 1930)
Alex Katz
(American, b. 1927)
Ellsworth Kelly
(American, 1923-2015)
Roy Lichtenstein
(American, 1923-97)
Hung Liu
(American, born China, 1948-2021)
Bruce Nauman
(American, b. 1941)
Claes Oldenburg
(American, born Sweden, 1929-2022)
Robert Rauschenberg
(American, 1925-2008)
Ed Ruscha
(American, b. 1937)
Alison Saar
(American, b. 1956)
Analia Saban
(Argentinian, b. 1980)
Jonathan Seliger
(American, b. 1955)
Lorna Simpson
(American, b. 1960)
Donald Sultan
(American, b. 1951)
Wayne Thiebaud
(American, b. 1920)
Andy Warhol
(American, 1928-87)
Rachel Whiteread
(British, b. 1963)
Sherrie Wolf
(American; b, 1952)


The Art of Food was organized by the University of Arizona Museum of Art in partnership with the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation and curated by Olivia Miller, interim director and curator of collections, University of Arizona Museum of Art.

Oklahoma Contemporary's installation of this exhibition was supported by The Chickasaw Nation, Richard and Glenna Tanenbaum, George Records, The Kanady Family, Annie Bohanon, Nonesuch, SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital, The E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation, Velocigo, 84 Hospitality, Underground Ghost Kitchen, Vanessa House Beer Company, Factor 110 and Edible OKC.


Special thanks for this exhibition goes to the Tucson City of Gastronomy and the many University of Arizona student interns who dedicated their time, effort, and skills to developing this exhibition and its accompanying educational materials, including Violet Rose Arma, Molly Kalkstein, Erin Scott, Ryann Squires and Brianna Velasco.

Spanish translations: Jaime Fatás-Cabeza, associate professor of the practice; director, Undergraduate Translation and Interpretation Program, Spanish and Portuguese Department.


About the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation
At age 14, Jordan D. Schnitzer bought his first work of art from his mother’s Portland, Oregon, contemporary art gallery, evolving into a lifelong avocation as a collector. He began collecting contemporary prints and multiples in earnest in 1988. Today, the collection has become one of the most important post-war and contemporary collections in all mediums, exceeding 20,000 objects, and has grown to be the country’s largest private collection of prints and multiples. He generously lends work from his collection to qualified institutions with no additional fees. The Foundation has organized more than 160 exhibitions at 120 museums across the country. Schnitzer is also president of Schnitzer Properties, a privately owned real estate investment company based in Portland.
The Foundation was established in 1997 as a nonprofit organization to manage the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. The Foundation publishes scholarly brochures, exhibition catalogues, and catalogues raisonnés in conjunction with exhibitions drawn from the collections. The Foundation also funds museum outreach and programming — especially to lesser-served communities — furthering the mission of letting artists speak to us, through their art, on important issues facing society.
jordanschnitzer.org

Images:

Installation view of The Art of Food, including Donald Sultan's Four Lemons (2018) and Andy Warhol's Cow 1966 (1966).

Installation view of The Art of Food, including Chris Antemann's Covet (2013).

Installation view of The Art of Food, including Enrique Chagoya's The Enlightened Savage (2002) and Lorna Simpson's C-Ration (1991).

Photos: Ann Sherman.

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