A ‘blind date’ between two Californian artists reveals surprising shared sensibilities
‘I like to think of “Allen/Blunk” as a blind date,’ says curator Brooke Hodge of the new two-artist exhibition at Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center she has organised, exploring the fleshly and fantastic works of Alma Allen and JB Blunk. The exhibition is the first in an ongoing series at the museum, bringing two artists from different generations into an imagined conversation through their work.
The two Californian artists never actually met, (Allen continues to work, recently relocating from Joshua Tree to Mexico City; Blunk passed away in 2002) yet the resonances between their practices are uncanny: corporeal curves, cheeky, prodding phallus shapes, curls of bronze, marble, ceramic and wood that make their materials look soft, malleable and sensual.
This natural affinity between the two artists is perhaps in part down to the fact that both preferred to work far from the madding crowds, with studios in remote locations, inspired by the natural colours and materials of their surroundings. For Blunk, it was the redwoods of Northern California, where he built a house in a nature reserve. Allen, meanwhile, worked out of a scintillating dome in the desert.
Not only did both artists dabble in furniture design, sculpture and homewares, but they both designed their own working and living spaces too, their environments in symbiosis with their practices. Documentation of this is included in the exhibition – alongside pieces borrowed from Blunk’s house in Inverness – considered his key work. In particular, portraits of both artists’ carefully-arranged, earthy-hued kitchens hint at more personal, connections between their lives and art.
A shared interest is revealed not only through their aesthetic sense and tastes – but also in their purposeful playfulness. Blunk’s bulbous ‘Penis Stools’ pair perfectly with Allen’s bronze series, Not Yet Titled, carved visual puns alluding to everyday objects, domestic items—and genitals. It seems neither one took themselves too seriously.
They were both unafraid of experimenting with scale: outside the Architecture and Design Center at the museum are two more recent imposing stone sculptures by Allen. Equally, Blunk was as happy making jewellery as he was going monumental – in 1969 he created a work, ‘The Planet’, made entirely of one ring of redwood, 13ft in diameter. Quite a feat considering both artists are self-taught.
INFORMATION
‘In Conversation: Alma Allen and JB Blunk’ is on view until 4 June. For more information, visit the Palm Springs Art Museum website
ADDRESS
Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center
300 S Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Charlotte Jansen is a journalist and the author of two books on photography, Girl on Girl (2017) and Photography Now (2021). She is commissioning editor at Elephant magazine and has written on contemporary art and culture for The Guardian, the Financial Times, ELLE, the British Journal of Photography, Frieze and Artsy. Jansen is also presenter of Dior Talks podcast series, The Female Gaze.
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice church
Belgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Discover Acqua di Parma’s new Mandarino di Sicilia fragrance at Milan Design Week 2024
Acqua di Parma and Fornice Objects bring the splendour of Sicilian mandarin fields to Milan to celebrate new fragrance Mandarino di Sicilia
By Simon Mills Published
-
First look at Samba Room, London’s innovative cocktail lounge packed with Brazilian energy
London’s Samba Room, an extension of SushiSamba, is a dynamic bar, lounge and private dining space designed by Fabled Studio
By Tianna Williams Published
-
The Met’s ‘The Real Thing: Unpacking Product Photography’ dissects the avant-garde in early advertising
A new exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York explores the role of product photography and advertising in shaping the visual language of modernism
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Black cinema
‘Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898-1971’ at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) brings lost or forgotten films, filmmakers and performers to a contemporary audience
By Anne Soward Published
-
BLUM marks 30 years of Japanese contemporary art in America
BLUM will take ‘Thirty Years: Written with a Splash of Blood’ to its New York space in September 2024, continuing its celebration of Japanese contemporary art in America
By Timothy Anscombe-Bell Published
-
Todd Gray’s sculptural photography collages defy dimension, linearity and narrative
In Todd Gray’s New York exhibition, he revisits his 40-year archive, fragmented into elaborated frames that open doors for new readings
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Frieze LA 2024 guide: the art, gossip and buzz
Our Frieze LA 2024 guide includes everything you need to know and see in and around the fair
By Renée Reizman Published
-
Peter Blake’s sculptures spark joy at Waddington Custot in London
‘Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters’, at London's Waddington Custot, spans six decades of the artist's career
By Hannah Silver Published
-
New York artist Christopher Astley showcases an alternative natural world
At Martos Gallery in New York, Christopher Astley’s paintings evoke an alternative natural world and the chaos of warfare (until 16 March 2024)
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Oozing, squidgy, erupting forms come alive at Hayward Gallery
‘When Forms Come Alive: Sixty Years of Restless Sculpture’ at Hayward Gallery, London, is a group show full of twists and turns
By Hannah Silver Published