WA To Exhibit Works By Pop Art Pioneer And Alumnus Robert Munford


Worcester Academy will host a retrospective of the works of pop art pioneer Robert Munford (1925-1991), a founder of the celebrated Spanish art group Grupo Ibiza 59, from Oct. 14 to Nov. 18 in the its Performance Center, 14 Marion Avenue. It is the first large exhibition of Munford works to be shown anywhere in more than 20 years.

The exhibition, Robert Munford: Selected Works, 1957-1966, will feature a series of 20 works, paintings and works on paper, from the collections of the Munford Estate, John Ashbery, Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg (Germany), and Galerie Lara Vincy (Paris).

The Robert Munford Catalogue Raisonne Project (http://www.robertmunfordcatalogue.org) is organizing the retrospective. An opening reception is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2016, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. RSVPs are required by registering at worcesteracademy.org/munford.

Following the Oct. 15 opening, the exhibit will only be opened by request by contacting Ursula Arello, director of alumni and donor engagement, at 508-459-6927, or emailing her at ursula.arello@worcestereacademy.org.

“We’re honored to have a show of this caliber and importance on exhibit in the Worcester Academy Performance Center,” said Elizabeth Bowles, co-chair of WA’s Visual and Performing Arts Department.  “It’s a unique learning opportunity for the entire WA community, but especially for our students,” she said.  “They’ll get a first-hand glimpse into the workings of a master and his pioneering role in the development of pop art in the 20th century.”

Show curator Rodney Obein of the Robert Munford Catalogue Raisonne Project is also excited about the upcoming show.

“I am thrilled to introduce the works of Robert Munford to a new audience and generation,” Mr. Obien said.  “His art is as fresh and intriguing today as it was between 1957 and 1966 when he developed his pop art style.  We thought there was no better place than Worcester and Worcester Academy — Munford's hometown and alma mater — to have the artist’s first exhibition in over two decades.”

ROBERT MUNFORD
A Worcester native and member of Worcester Academy’s Class of 1944, Robert grew up on May Street and was the son of Walter Munford, an executive with American Steel and Wire in Worcester who later became president of the United States Steel Corporation. He left Worcester Academy a year early to join the U.S. Army Air Corps during the Second World War before studying art at Ohio State University, the Cleveland Institute of Art, and the Student Art League of New York. He settled for a time in Provincetown before moving to Spain in 1956 and ultimately to the island of Ibiza in 1957. Munford remained in Spain until 1966.

The years of 1957 to 1966 marked a period of experimentation for the artist. He arrived in Spain focused primarily on abstract landscapes but progressed to a distinctive pop art style. Munford exhibited his pop art widely in Europe from Paris to Germany, Switzerland, and Spain.

Munford attracted the attention of critics, such as John Ashbery and Aldo Pelligrini. In New Tendencies of Art (1966), Pelligrini listed Munford with Larry Rivers, R.J. Kitaj, Peter Saul, and Harold Stevenson as stylistic contemporaries. Ashbery found Munford’s art “strange and beautiful.”
In 1959, Robert founded the Grupo Ibiza 59 with fellow artists Erwin Bechtold, Erwin Broner, Hans Laab, Heinz Trökes, Bertil Sjöberg, Egon Neubauer, Katja Meirowsky, and Antonio Ruiz. Grupo Ibiza 59, through their exhibitions and gatherings, brought international attention to the thriving art scene in Ibiza, Spain.

Robert returned to the U.S. in 1966. Unable to recreate his success in Europe, Munford turned to art education when in 1971 he took a position at the Long Island University, Southampton, NY. He became a distinguished professor of art and taught for two decades until his death in 1991.

Robert’s artwork is in the permanent collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, DC), the Museum of Modern Art (New York City), the New York Public Library, and the Parrish Art Museum (Water Mill, NY).

WORCESTER ACADEMY PERFORMANCE CENTER
The Performance Center is a newly-constructed $3.5 million theater featuring a flexible, 120-seat theater/multi-purpose space, an adjacent lobby/gallery named the “Cole Porter Lobby, Worcester Academy Class of 1909,” and large bi-folding glass doors that open to the outdoors.  The lobby is one of the few spaces in America named for Cole Porter, one of America’s greatest songwriters, who spent four years at Worcester Academy.  It is there that Robert Munford’s works will be exhibited.

The Worcester Academy Performance Center is the first visual and performing arts building constructed by the Academy since Warner Theater was built in 1932.

VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS AT WORCESTER ACADEMY
The Worcester Academy Visual and Performing Arts Department is dedicated to offering students a vibrant and transformative education in the arts, grounded in exposure to and experience in theatre, visual art, and music. The arts at Worcester Academy are a training ground for collaboration, problem solving, and creative expression. The arts encourage students to look within and discover their own voices, as well as to look outside themselves to hear and understand the voices of others. The program provides a foundation for further study for the student who wishes to make a life in the arts and, for all students, teaches the importance of making the arts a part of life.

ABOUT WORCESTER ACADEMY
Worcester Academy, founded in 1834, is an independent co-ed day and boarding school for grades 6 to 12 and postgraduates. Our urban setting, diverse community, and innovative curriculum provide each student with unique opportunities for self-discovery, academic achievement, and personal empowerment. Visit us at www.worcesteracademy.org.

For media inquiries, contact Neil Isakson, director of external communications, at 508-754-5302 x135, or e-mail neil.isakson@worcesteracademy.org.

To RSVP for the opening, visit worcesteracademy.org/munford. For questions about the opening or to see the exhibit by request, contact Ursula Arello, director of alumni and donor engagement, at 508-459-6927, or email her at ursula.arello@worcestereacademy.org.


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