Andrew Schoultz: Illuminated Opposition
Andrew Schoultz brings his signature street-savvy style to a new body of work that questions the meaning and function of public space and the nature of political discourse. With an emphasis on the formal vocabulary of abstraction, Schoultz exposes the ways in which meaning is manipulated and perception skewed as the locus for civic debate has shifted from the town plaza to the isolated, anonymous realm of cyberspace.
Two monumental sculptures anchor the installation, surrounded by murals painted directly on the walls of the gallery, paintings on panel and paper, and other sculptural objects. In a new series of abstract paintings, Schoultz distills some of his familiar stylistic elements into a more formal language with subtler allusions. Other works incorporate new symbolic motifs with multiple, sometimes conflicting meanings. As an example, the snake features prominently. Depending upon your cultural heritage, religious beliefs, or political persuasion, it can denote fertility, transformation, protection, wisdom, eternity, healing, anti-government resistance, racism, treachery or original sin.
In the age of Trump, truth is a questionable commodity, peddled like a trinket for short-term gain. Is this really a new phenomenon, or simply one that has emerged brazenly from the shadows, to operate with impunity in the full light of day? Schoultz’s work situates itself squarely within current socio-political concerns, illuminating the battleground of a sharply divided country.
Andrew Schoultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1975 and currently resides in Los Angeles. A major solo exhibition occupying the entire museum was presented by the Monterey Art Museum in 2013, and Schoultz is currently preparing for a solo exhibition at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in Indiana in 2018. He has painted outdoor murals worldwide, including most recently in Beirut, Manila, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Toronto. His work is in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Berkeley Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and many others. This is his second solo exhibition at Hosfelt Gallery.
