In the Studio with Titus Kaphar

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Weinberg

"In the Studio with Titus Kaphar"
Steven Psyllos
GIANT magazine
April 17, 2009

For the past year, 32-year-old artist Titus Kaphar has been prepping for “History in the Making,” his solo exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, which opened April 3rd. The painter recently purchased a house in Connecticut, where he earned his M.F.A from Yale, and renovated his garage into a studio space. He and his wife also just welcomed their second son into the world. These days, keeping work close to home is a priority because Kaphar is a family man on a tight schedule.

The Setup
“This is my first solo show of this size. A year ago, they flew me out to see the space and we talked about the setup. Then I figured out what works best: Just make the work and stop thinking.”

Letting Go
Kaphar relied heavily on curator Sandra Jackson-Dumont. “You have to work with someone you trust. You have to have a good idea of their vision because then you can let them do that.”

Negotiation
“Four months ago, Sandra came to narrow down what would be included.” Some selections were obvious, while others were not. “There’s a nice piece that I had to pull out. I have conversations with it, like, ‘You figure out what you want yet?’ and it’s not saying. So I’m waiting. [I also ended up] including things I never intended on showing.”

Methodology
Kaphar’s work is more than painted canvases—he shreds them, crumples them into balls and stitches them together. “If I’m feeling hyped, then it’s time to deconstruct or do a drawing. If I’ve got that focused energy, then it’s time to paint.”

Time Management
With a small family and a budding career, Kaphar doesn’t play. “I get up at 5:30 A.M—my newborn doesn’t sleep—then I get my two-year-old up at 7:00 A.M., make breakfast. At 9: 30 A.M., I come into the studio and my here until 7:00 P.M. All that romantic ‘Ah, I gotta wait to be inspired’ kind of thing is gone.”

History in the Making: Titus Kaphar Cuts up to Rebuild

Michelle Carlson
Art in America
May 20, 2009

History has a certain way of being selfish-the past is often understood through its inequities and linear narratives, static lines marching forward that are capped by dates, deaths, and wars -- by way of the winners and occasionally, the losers. Personal and collective trauma can be difficult, if not impossible to articulate, as many are left out (sometimes, on purpose). When those who have lived through history are gone and the voices of their retelling have long faded past fables and cautionary tales, how will those lessons be recounted? Will they fall into the vast fissures of histories lost? In "History in the Making," on view at the Seattle Art Museum, artist Titus Kaphar's sculptural paintings challenge canonical representations of history and memory by collapsing past into present.

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Seattle Times reviews Titus Kaphar's show at SAM

Photo Credit: Jim Bates, The Seattle Times
Article by Jerry Lange, Seattle Times Staff Columnist

PAINTER CHALLENGES HISTORY WITH SEATTLE ART MUSEUM EXHIBIT
Titus Kaphar gives history a chance to live in the present.

Titus Kaphar gives history a chance to live in the present.

He's a young painter who had turned his passion for history into a body of work that asks contemporary questions of historically significant paintings, mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The question he asked George Washington drew me to a showing of Kaphar's work, which opened at the Seattle Art Museum Friday and runs through Sept. 6.

Kaspar copied part of that famous painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware, just showing Washington and two dark hands on an oar. He made it big, then he cut Washington out and turned him upside down, making the painting look like a giant playing card.

Washington gambled with the lives of an entire people by not trying to end slavery.

He called the painting "George, George, George." Kaphar told me it's meant to be said in exasperation. He knows the complex situation Washington faced and the turmoil that shows up in Washington's diaries, but still.

Kaspar said Washington's writings show he "clearly understood that this is a sin, that it is unjust, that it is evil," but he did nothing about it.

Those two black hands on the oars start to look like fists.

For the full article, please visit the website of the Seattle Times.

Ahmed Alsoudani in DER SPIEGEL and Titus Kaphar at SAM

Ahmed Alsoudani is the subject of a recent article in the German publication DER SPIEGEL entitled "Star of the Hour." To read the full article in German or the translated version in English, please navigate to the press section of Ahmed's artist page on the G+R website: http://www.goffandrosenthal.com/alsoudani_press/

Additionally, congratulations to Titus Kaphar for opening his solo show at the Seattle Art Museum today. The exhibit kicked off last evening with an opening reception. For more info on his show and to watch a video of the artist speaking about his work, please view the website of the Seattle Art Museum: http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/exhibit/exhibitDetail.asp?eventID=15647

Upcoming Museum Shows

G+R artists are several opening museum shows in the following weeks, so here's a summary of what's going on:

-- Titus Kaphar at the Seattle Art Museum, April 3–September 6, 2009 (more information here)

-- Susanne Kühn at Forum Kunst Rottweil in Rottweil, Germany, March 29-May 10, 2009
Opening Reception with the artist, March 28, 2009 at 7.00 pm (with introduction to the exhibit by Robert Goff)

--Chihara Shiota is participating in a group show that opens at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, in Kanazawa, Japan on April 18, 2009 and will remain up until August 30, 2009.

-- More information to follow about Pietsch Week, a weeklong screening of Oliver Pietsch's films in mid-April at our NY gallery.

Closing Party, Titus speaks at the SAM

Thanks to everyone that came out for our closing party in celebration of Jeremy Earhart's The Thin Ice of Modern Life last Saturday evening. FREE TIME was the perfect accompaniment to Jeremy's work in the black light ambience!

There was a very cool little article on MetroMix about the night with a slideshow of pictures. If you weren't at Jeremy's studio in Brooklyn beforehand, be sure to look for the plexiglas factory in his basement.

On another note: Video coverage of Titus Kaphar, recent winner of the Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Fellowship at the Seattle Art Museum, speaking about his plans for his upcoming solo exhibit this fall at the SAM.

Titus Kaphar wins Fellowship at Seattle Art Museum

Titus Kaphar has been named the winner of the inaugural Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Fellowship at the Seattle Art Museum. The $10,000 award and a solo exhibit at the Museum will be given out biannually to a young black artist who is in their early career. 

Titus's show will run from April 3 - September 6, with more information to follow as the date gets closer. 

Full article on ARTINFO