Opening Reception for Funk Exhibition

Join us at the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis, California for the
upcoming, captivating exhibition California Funk to Figuration: A New
Narrative Mythology. The exhibition will be open from September 7 to
January 7, 2022. The opening reception is on September 9, and will
feature live music and free beverages.

This exhibition will feature works by the incredible men and women who shaped the Funk
Movement. Through their artworks, including painting, sculpture, and works on paper, Funk
artists consciously undermine expectations. The colorful works all playfully address narrative
themes, some more enigmatic than others.

Funk Art organically emerged in the 1960s in the leading art schools in California as a rebellious
response to both the restrictiveness of Bay Area Figurative Art and the nonobjectivity of Abstract
Expressionism. While Funk Art has continued to elude a decisive definition, its hallmark is a
significant degree of absurdity. Artists famously responded, “when you see it, you know it,”
when asked to describe the movement.
Those championing the ridiculousness that is the fundamental doctrine of Funk are known for
their collaborations and the impressive followings that they inspired among their students. Some
of the artists whose works will be on display include Roy De Forest, Robert Arneson, Peter Saul,
Robert Colescott, David Gilhooly, Louise Stanely, Patrick Siler, Jim Albertson, Gladyss
Nielsson, Jim Nutt and many more. The Funk Movement is often categorized as a West Coast art
style, but this show will bring together artists from California and the other major center of the
style- Chicago. This exhibition will highlight the shared philosophies of different generations of
artists, who all imbued their works with unorthodox tradition and self-referential humor.

Come visit the John Natsoulas Gallery for the very exciting opportunity to see historic artwork
that truly captures the energy and absurdism of the Funk Movement.