John Lurie

The Erotic Poetry of Hoog

June 28 to September 16, 2007

The Erotic Poetry of Hoog

For its eleventh edition, the FREEFORM Series is presenting, from June 28 to September 16, 2007, the exhibition The Erotic Poetry of Hoog, which features some fifty works on paper by American artist John Lurie.

A renowned musician (he led the jazz group The Lounge Lizards), actor (he had starring roles in various films, notably in the Jim Jarmush films Stranger than Paradise and Down By Law, and in the television series Fishing with John) and director, John Lurie is also a visual artist. Though kept a secret until recently, this latter aspect of his work is no less deeply original and moving. Sex, violence, despair and black humour set the tone. Offshoots of a punk aesthetic, the works brought together here present a dark, anti-conformist and grotesque view of the human condition and nature.

His first exhibition was held in 2004 at New York’s Anton Kern Gallery. In 2006, the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York featured his work in a solo show. The Erotic Poetry of Hoog is his first exhibition in a museum. Born in Minneapolis in 1952, Lurie lives and works in New York.

Stéphane Aquin, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, is in charge of the FREEFORM SERIES. This series, devoted to projects in contemporary art, receives support from Pratt & Whitney.

Contemporary art programming at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts receives funding from the Canada Council for the Arts.

 

Seven questions for John Lurie

 

What kind of questions do you like to answer?
Not questions like that.

You have been painting for over thirty years, but as recently as five years ago decided to start showing your work. Why?
In the eighties, I was painting a lot and was already known for the Lounge Lizards and the movies I had made and acted in. I watched friends of mine, like Basquiat, Schnabel and Clemente, receive obscene amounts of money for their efforts. It left me nowhere to go as far as showing the work, because it would have seemed like I was jumping on a bandwagon and I suppose somewhat garish - he plays music, he directs, he acts, now he paints - who does this guy think he is? Then, after I got sick I was pretty isolated and started painting full time. My friend James Nares came by and saw this mountain of work and said, “You have to have a show.” So he hooked me up with the Anton Kern Gallery.

Do you plan on acting in any more films?
Now I only act in the films of Abraham Zapruder.

Bird Has Absolutely No Face

Do you find it more fun to paint the animal kingdom rather than man and do you have a favourite recurring character in your paintings?
I really have no idea how that works. I work in a sort of hypnotic state, or at least when it is going well I do. I don’t intentionally have recurring characters, but there was that little monkey beast thing that was in the Happy as a Penis painting that showed up a lot, but he hasn't been around lately.

When do you title your paintings?
Titles usually come about three-quarters of the way through. If I have a title in mind first, the painting seems to come out contrived and stiff. But titles are just titles. If the titles are more important than the paintings, then I am failing miserably.

Do you think living in New York City influences your work?
You know, I don’t really like it here anymore. I am sort of creating windows for myself.

Any final thoughts?
All thoughts are final.