Phoenix Art Museum Opens LIFELIKE Exhibition Today

Reality has been defined as the state of things as they actually exist, distinctly different from how they might be imagined. But, as John Lennon once pointed out, reality leaves a lot to the imagination, and never is that more present than in Lifelike, an exhibition of nearly 70 contemporary works that navigate between reality and the most imaginative of illusions. Lifelike, which comes to Phoenix Art Museum from Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minn., will be on view today, February 5 through May 18 in Steele Gallery.

The exhibition includes nearly 70 pieces of unique, contemporary works, from sculpture and installation to paintings and photography created as far back as 1960, with a special focus on the last fifteen years. It features works by seminal, acclaimed artists, such as Ai Weiwei, Susan Collis, Gerard Richter, Chuck Close, Kaz Oshiro, Thomas Demand and Vija Celmins.

"Phoenix Art Museum is honored and excited to bring a collection of international artists of this magnitude to the Valley of the Sun," said the Sybil Harrington Director of Phoenix Art Museum, James K. Ballinger.

But, along with featuring critically acclaimed 20th and 21st century artists, the exhibition also offers a new perspective. "Lifelike explores extraordinary in the ordinary through common objects that are skillfully revisited through handcrafted artistry. We will never see these objects quite the same way again," said Ballinger.

These everyday items become unfamiliar and uncanny as they are recreated. The artists play with scale and media, including an oversized eight-and-a-half-foot-tall bronze milk carton (Jonathan Seliger, Heartland, 2010), a sleeping bag formed from painted bronze (Gavin Turk, Nomad, 2001) and an overstuffed plastic garbage bag carved from marble (Jud Nelson, Hefty 2-Ply, 1979-1981).

What sets these works apart from their everyday counterpart is precise artistry in the construction of each piece. In this day of mass production, these unique objects step away from automated fabrication in favor of meticulous and often carefully disguised handiwork. "The work that goes into each one to create the familiar really creates a special interaction between the artist and the viewer as you study each object to ascertain how it was created, how it mimics what you know, and how it differs," explained Christian Adame, assistant curator of education, who worked on the Phoenix installation of this traveling exhibition. "The skill and uncanny quality draws the viewer in. The conversation is incomplete without us."

Ultimately, Lifelike is a show that is about much more than a clever rendering of the familiar. "This is more than just everyday objects placed in a gallery," explained Adame. "These works elucidate the most beautiful aspects of what is common and everyday, even in something as subtle as the passage of light through a glass door."

Lifelike reaches beyond the complexity of the contemporary art world and manages to intrigue the everyday museum visitor-it's a contemporary exhibition that is not only visually accessible but contains subject matter that touches our everyday lives.

Lifelike is organized by Walker Art Center, in Minneapolis, and made possible by the generous support from John L. Thomson and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Its Phoenix premier was made possible through the generous support of UMB Bank and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Phoenix Art Museum

Phoenix Art Museum has provided access to visual arts and educational programs in Arizona for more than 50 years and is the largest art museum in the Southwestern United States. Critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions are shown alongside the Museum's collection of more than 17,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. Visitors also enjoy vibrant photography exhibitions through the Museum's landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit PhxArt.org, or call the 24-hour recorded information line at (602) 257-1222.