Modernism is pleased to present its second one-person exhibition of works by San Francisco-based artist Mark ULRIKSEN. Ulriksen’s varied interests are often the subjects of his artworks, be it politics, people, animals, or sports, or simply capturing the essence of a Sunday stroll in the park.
His instantly recognizable portraits and whimsical take on life have led to now 60 covers of The New Yorker magazine, where he has been a regular contributor since 1993, alongside other greats such as David Hockney, Maira Kalman, Jean Jacques Sémpe, Saul Steinberg, Art Spiegelman, and Barry Blitt.
Twenty paintings and works on paper will be on view, including Slippery Slopes, which made the February 26, 2018 cover of The New Yorker. “Sports can be an opportunity for some of the world’s most talented to leap to their freedom,” Ulriksen says about his cover, inspired by the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
In Strike Zone (featured on the May 1, 2017 cover of The New Yorker) Ulriksen revisits the 100-year-old Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, along with the recent push for computer umpires. “There’s drama inherent in every pitch,” says Ulriksen about the baseball season. “For the next six months, there’ll be a cast of characters,” he says. “You follow your team with the kind of rapt attention that you would a good book. When fall comes, you get a grand finale. Last year (2016), it all went to the Chicago Cubs. This year, who knows?”
Ulriksen’s inspirations range far and wide, from the twisted outlook of Mad magazine and Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons of his youth, to the line work of picture-book artist Miroslav Šašek; and all the way to Flemish storytellers like Rogier van der Weyden, and photographers like Arnold Newman. Film has also been a great influence on Ulriksen’s work, he explains, “Movies by Billy Wilder, Wes Anderson, and Buster Keaton have given me color palettes, compositions, and a love of dry, deadpan humor.”
Mark Ulriksen’s work is in the permanent collection of The Smithsonian and the Library of Congress. He has created murals for United Airlines and the Chicago Bears that grace the walls of the United Club at Soldier Field. He has been the regular artist for the San Francisco Jazz Festival, and his 2006 New Yorker cover parody of the film Brokeback Mountain was named the year’s top magazine news cover by the Magazine Publishers of America.
The public is cordially invited to attend an opening reception on Wednesday, July 11th, from 5:30-8PM. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CALL: 415/541-0461 / FAX: 415/541-0425, OR EMAIL TO: [email protected]. HI-RES IMAGES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.
