The Robert Berman gallery is pleased to present a selection of Ben Talbert’s paintings, drawings, and assemblages from the 1960’s.
Luck and love Revisited, is curated by Talbert’s close friend, Hal Glicksman.
Ben Talbert was an accomplished painter and sculptor who was part of the original circle of beat and alternative Venice artist’s from the 1960’s. Not only was he friends with all of the people from the seminal group, especially Wallace Berman and Ed Kienholz, but was also exhibited in a major show with both of them at the Pasadena art Museum as well as a solo show curated by Walter Hopps. Talbert’s assemblages are still well known and were recently in exhibitions at the Whitney and at Santa Monica Museum.
After 1965 Talbert painted large POP paintings of pornographic playing cards on a background of the American Flag. The police closed a group show he was in 1972 at David Stuart gallery on La Cienega. His friends organized a secret exhibition called Luck and Love for 2 days in the middle of the week at the Mermaid Tavern in Topanga, and other than that his paintings and drawings have never been shown.
When Talbert died in 1974, the Women’s movement was in full swing. Glicksman concluded that Talbert’s work needed to be stored away for a long time to find a new audience.
This is Talbert’s first exhibition at Robert Berman Gallery.
Please join us at a reception for the show on Saturday January 16, 2009 from 7pm to 9pm.
ROBERT BERMAN GALLERY
2525 Michigan Avenue, Suite D5/C2
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Tel: C2-310.315.9506
www.robertbermangallery.com
