November 11, 2011 through January 14, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 11, 7-10PM
During the 1950s, David Weidman began his career as a commercial illustrator and animator, earning great acclaim for working with the upstart animation studio United Productions of America (UPA) which produced classics such as Mr. Magoo and the Academy Award-winning Gerald McBoing-Boing. Weidman himself was known for his backgrounds on “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol.”
But IN 1963, Weidman chose to become a printmaker, utilizing his knowledge and experience as an animator to create brilliantly-colored kaleidoscopic works-on-paper displaying a pared-down, flat style expressing whimsy, magic and wonder. For nearly two decades, from his studio/gallery on La Cienega Blvd. behind a liquor store, just north of Melrose Ave, Weidman produced an extensive body of work, including lithographs, serigraphs and posters inseparably associated with mid-century modernism.
Unlike his “high-brow” peers, whose subject matter was often morose and political, Weidman’s style evoked a cheery playfulness that continues to inspire contemporary artists, animators, filmmakers and designers today.
Yet, in the mid-60s, to prove his versatility, Weidman created a series of non-representational modernist prints with deep, saturated colors reminiscent of mark Rothko’s color-field paintings and Wassily Kandinsky’s abstract expressionism.
In conjunction with Pacific Standard Time, Bermudez Projects presented more than 15 original works from this modern series, including a rare, never-before-seen print. All were created between 1967 and 1974, and reaffirm Weidman’s keen graphic sensibility, expert use of color, and mastery of composition.
