Ray Johnson
Untitled, Collaged
1985
Magazine, ink
13 x 9.5 inches
Ray Johnson
Skeeter Days: The End of the World
Record
1985
Ray Johnson
Untitled, Self Portrait
Signed by artist
Mixed media, photo
9 x 9.5 inches - 13 x 13.5 inches framed
RJ 14
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Brigitte Bardot with stamps
Mixed media on paper, stamps
8 7/8 x 9 1/2 inches - 13.5 x 14 inches framed
RJ 1
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Date: N/D
Mixed media on cardboard, paint
9 x 7 1/2 inches - 15 x 12 1/4 inches framed
RJ 2
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Mixed media on paper
7 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches - 12.5 x 10.5 inches framed
RJ 3
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Date: N/D
Mixed media on paper, stamps
6 7/8 x 4 1/4 inches - 12 x 9 1/4 inches framed
RJ 4
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Signed by artist
Date: N/D
8 1/4 x 5 inches - 13 x 10 inches framed
RJ 5
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Date: N/D
Mixed media on paper
5 7/8 x 2 inches - 11 x 7 inches framed
RJ 6
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Hand Cancel, addressed to Rolf Nelson
Signed by artist
12 x 8 1/2 inches - 17 x 12 3/4 inches framed
RJ 7
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Shelley Duvall Fan Club
Date: N/D
3 1/4 x 7 inches - 8.5 x 12 inches framed
RJ 8
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Date: N/D
Mixed media on board, paper
7 1/2 x 10 inches - 13 x 15 inches framed
RJ 9
Ray Johnson
Untitled
George Washington
Date: N/D
Mixed media on paper
7 x 4 inches - 12 x 9 inches framed
RJ 10
Ray Johnson
Addressed to Rolf Nelson
Signed by artist
1961
Mixed media on paper, postcard and envelope
8 x 9 inches - 13 x 14 1/4 inches framed
RJ 11
Ray Johnson
Untitled
Date: Aug 14, 1962
Mixed media on paper
11 x 9 inches - 16 x 13 inches framed
RJ 12
Ray Johnson
TECHNIQUE of the KISS ON THE EAR
Collage
N/D
Mixed media on paper
5 x 3 1/4 inches - 10 x 8 1/4 framed
RJ 13
H. C. Westermann
HI YA KID, "THE TURKEY-NECK"
Mixed media on paper
17 x 21 1/4 inches
HCW 2
H. C. Westermann
Untitled, Merry Xmas!
1964
Mixed media, block print
7 x 4 inches
HCW 3
H. C. Westermann
Untitled, three envelops
1968
Paper envelops, mixed media
16 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches
HCW 4
H.C. Westermann
Untitled, three envelops
1968, 1969, 1970
Paper envelops, mixed media
20 1/2 x 16 inches
HCW 5
H. C. Westermann
Untitled, OH BOY!
1962
Mixed media, paper
16 x 22 1/2 inches
HCW 6
H. C. Westermann
Untitled, six envelops
1963, 1964, 1968
Paper envelops, mixed media
18 1/2 x 24 3/4 inches
HCW 7
H.C. Westermann
The Stark Hotel
1971
Signed lower right
Ink on paper
15 x 22 1/4inches
23 ¾ x 30 ¾ inches framed
H.C. Westermann
THE DANCE OF DEATH (San Pedro)
1975
Signed lower right
Four-color woodcut
34/39
H.C. Westermann
Popeye and Pinocchio
1975
Signed lower right
28/39
Four-color woodcut
H.C. Westermann
THE GREEN HELL
1975
Signed lower right
Four-color woodcut
34/35
H.C. Westermann
An Affair in the Islands
1972
9 color lithograph
37 x 30.5 inches
H.C. Westermann
Untitled, Window with Two-Headed Dog
Signed with a "Burned" anchor upper right
c. 1970"s
Cared wood, screw
38 x 42 x 8 1/8 inches
Provenance: The H.C. Westermann Studio, Brookfield Center, Connecticut
Private Collection, Chicago
Original works replicating H.C. Westermann studio
H. C. Westermann
Dust Pan
Initials: J P
Mixed media, wood, Bubinga West Africa
HCW 9
H. C. Westermann
Birdhouse
Zebrawood
HCW 11
H. C. Westermann
Untitled, Heart Inlay
Mixed media wood
HCW 10
Ray Johnson installation
Carl Hammer Gallery is pleased to present Sincerely..., an exhibition of works by two seminal Pop Art figures of the 1950's: H. C. Westermann (1922-81) and Ray Johnson (1927-95).
Opening Saturday, September 12, 11:00-5:00 pm
Exhibition Dates: September 12 - November 28, 2020
The work of collage and correspondence artist Ray Johnson and sculptor H. C. Westermann might have never intersected had it not been for mail. Their art was conceptually different: Johnson was interested in building a network in an increasingly distant world and Westermann was focused on challenging ideas behind militarism and materialism. In the aftermath of World War II, America quickly became defined by growing consumerism and increasing societal velocity, monolithic identities and gender roles, and a temporality that excluded the past and focused on the future. The work of Westermann and Johnson, though different in medium, demanded discourse and discussion in a world that was technologically expanding and changing. Their art became a vehicle for making sense of humanity in a post-war world, working from different margins of a Cold-War America: Johnson as a gay man in an age of heteronormativity and Westermann as a veteran in a society that looked beyond the agonies and traumas of two violent wars.
Sincerely… combines the collages and mail art of both H.C. Westermann and Ray Johnson in order to understand how both artists found meaning, place, and connection in times of great change. As networking and communication were evolving in the second half of the 20th century, Westermann and Johnson used written correspondence around the same time in their careers to convey their artistry and ideas. Though mail is traditionally an intimate form of communication, the experiences of Westermann and Johnson were meant to be understood and consumed publicly. “Sincerely” ––a common sign-off at the end of a letter–– implies that the remarks of both artists have been written, read, and digested. This exhibition compiles their voices into a larger narrative of the past in one big, open letter addressed to us.