Supply and Demand Exhibit

We were in Cincinnati the other day and visited the new Contemporary Arts Museum. The CAC’s galleries are now showing approximately 250 pieces of Shepard Fairey’s work that traces the artist’s career from his early Andre the Giant work to the iconic Obama HOPE image to a brand new large-format mural custom-made for the lobby. The exhibit ends August 22, 2010. If you live within driving range of Cincinnati the exhibit is worth a visit.

I like his work.

I also think he must be looney tunes on some scale. His style, color palette and message were set 20 years ago. Judging by the body of work on display, he is obsessed in more ways than one. He must have worked 18 hour days with no time off for good behavior these past two decades.

As for the other two exhibits on display, Ernesto Neto’s Dancing Allowed, there until October 31, 2010, and Pat Steir’s Water & Stone, until August 22, 2010, both are ho-hummers. Neto’s is amusing for about a minute and a half.

There was a quote by Andy Warhol in the Fairey exhibit area that I loved and it aptly applies to the Neto and Steir exhibits: “Art is what you can get away with.”

We spent a languid, tasty evening at Jeanro’s Bistro nearby. What a wonderful restaurant. That was our third trip there.