Lionel Maunz, Annunciation (detail), 2017. Steel and iron. 71 3/4 x 36 3/4 x 52 1/4 inches. Artwork © Lionel Maunz. Artwork and image courtesy the artist and Bureau, New York.
From growing up in a doomsday cult in Montana to almost accidentally (and deservingly) finding his way into a BFA and MFA from SMU by 2004, the acclaimed Brooklyn-based artist Lionel Maunz will make a homecoming appearance at SMU in Dallas next Wednesday, March 1 at 7 p.m. to talk about his work.
Maunz—whose themes often touch on the psychological (and by extension physical) mutation and rot visited on us by our family relationships—works mainly in black, roiling cast iron. Inspired by the work of psychologist R.D. Laing, the infamous primate experiments of Harry Harlow, and even the photographic medical documentation of genital electrocution, Maunz creates visceral and unapologetic sculptures and drawings that illuminate the endless cycle of degradation and breakdowns in the lives of humans and animals. His output is grim, gorgeous, and poetic. He’s recently had a solo exhibition at MoMa PS1 and another at Art Basel Statements.
This talk is in conjunction with a new show of his works that’s just opened at the Contemporary Austin’s Laguna Gloria campus in Austin. The talk is free and open to the public. Again, it’s hosted by SMU’s Meadow School in Dallas, in O’Donnell Hall, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1. For more info, please go here, or here.
