JAN YOORS | PRESS RELEASE

L. Parker Stephenson Photographs is pleased to present its second exhibition of Jan Yoors’ work and its first to include drawings and paintings alongside photographs. The2010 exhibition focused on Yoors’ humanist street photography of the early 1960s. The current presentation highlights his abstract art and is accompanied by a specially published catalog.

Yoors’ exploration of urban decay in the 60s and early 70s combines elements of objets trouvés, Abstract Expressionism and Pop art. Rather than focus on one medium, he was able to seamlessly shift between many, simultaneously honoring historical traditions while forging a unique path in the contemporary art of his day. Eliminating details with gouache paint, Yoors translated his abstract photographs into bold shapes in vibrant colors. These designs were in turn often woven into tapestries, dramatically altering both scale and texture. His monochromatic drawings of female figures echo these reductive forms. Viewing his abstract photographs alongside the gouaches and drawings is essential to understanding Yoors’ remarkable versatility and the relationship between processes and allows for a deeper appreciation of the unique richness of his oeuvre.

Yoors, who lived a short and remarkable life, was born in Belgium and passed away in 1977 at the age of fifty-five. Following WWII, when he served with the Gypsies as part of the Resistance, he moved to New York in 1950 andproduced a diverse body of work including tapestries, gouaches, drawings, sculpture and photographs as well as authoring several books on his experiences.

In the past five years, appreciation for this under-recognized artist has greatly expanded with close to a dozen solo exhibitions throughout Europe and the United States including a major retrospective (and accompanying catalog) at the FeliXart Museum in Belgium. Aretrospective at the Baker Museum in Florida and a photographic presentation at the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerpare scheduled for next year. His works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Studio Museum of Art, and Museum of Arts and Design in New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Smithsonian Institution’s American Art Museum, Archives of American Art, and National Museum of African American History and Culture; the FotoMuseum Antwerp and the FeliXart Museum among others.In recognition of his importance as an historical figure and artist, Belgium will issue a postage stamp in 2015 of Yoors’ “Yellow Tantra” tapestry.

For additional information, to request images, or to purchase a catalog, please contact the gallery at +1 212 517-8700 or by email at info@lparkerstephenson.com.

L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, located at 764 Madison Avenue between 65th and 66th streets, is open Wednesday -Saturday from 11am-6pm.