 |
 |
|
FREE
AESTHETIC PLEASURE NOW!
"It is appropriate that Manuel's exhibit coincides with the one-year anniversary of our art program, because much of the vision and purpose of the Babilonia Wilner Foundation is inspired by the questions and challenges raised in his work," explains founder and collector Malou Babilonia. "Much of polite society might prefer to ignore these topics, but Manuel confronts these and our own preconceived notions with power and humor like no other." A native Filipino, Ocampo moved to the United States in 1986 and quickly won attention for his work in the early nineties. He was part of the landmark exhibition "Helter Skelter: L.A. Art in the 90's" curated by Paul Schimmel at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Documenta IX in Kassel, Germany, and at a Saatchi Collection exhibition in London in 1992. Ocampo's work has been featured at the Kwangju Biennial in 1997 and at this year's International Exhibition at the Venice Bienniale. Ocampo returned to the United States in 1999 and relocated to the Bay Area after residing in Seville, Spain for three years. Prior to living in Spain, he spent a year in Italy as a fellow at the American Academy in Rome. He is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery in New York, Galería OMR in Mexico City, Galerie Philomene Magers in Munich, Galería Soledad Lorenzo in Madrid and Galerie Nathalie Obadia in Paris. He has exhibited widely in the United States, Europe, and Asia at museums, galleries, and alternative art spaces. BABILONIA 1808 is a non-profit, international contemporary art program whose mission includes promoting dialogue among communities through intercultural exchange, challenging audiences with provocative contemporary art, and highlighting the East Bay as a nucleus of vibrant creativity. PUSOD is a center that reconnects community to culture and the environment. Both are programs of the Babilonia Wilner Foundation (BWF) and are housed in an ecologically restored landmark - itself a demonstration of the foundation's vision for integrated, humane living.
|
|
Noted
critic Kenneth Baker observes, "The ambiguity of Ocampo's paintings
is part of their sophistication. As confrontational and vehement as
they are, they point to no conclusion, nor do they even encourage us
to take literally the overt references they contain...I believe that
what we experience as their perverse beauty is their liberating psychic
effect. They free us to acknowledge the tortuous aspect of being subject
to manipulation by images." Free Aesthetic Pleasure Now! consists
primarily of over 30 small to mid-size new works. Earlier paintings
by Ocampo from the Babilonia Wilner Collection - one of the largest
private collections of his work - will also be featured to provide a
background of the artist's career from 1987 to 2000. The collection
will be on display at Babilonia 1808's sister program PUSOD, located
downstairs in the same building at 1808 5th Street. Ocampo's exhibition
also marks the first anniversary of BABILONIA 1808 which opened this
time last year with a show by Japanese artist Kenji Yanobe.