Portraits of Our (Unindicted) Leader
On View May 8 through June 28, 2019
[Art by Julian Raven, Jim Boden and Tim Atseff]
The Center for Contemporary Political Art opens its fourth exhibition on May 8th (6 – 8 p.m.) with portraiture of Donald Trump by three artists whose political views reflect the polarization evident throughout the country. Titled “The Good, the Bad & The Ugly: Portraits of Our (Unindicted) Leader, it is believed to be the first exhibition of pro-Trump and anti-Trump art work since the President took office two years ago.
The exhibit offers Washingtonians their first opportunity to see Julian Raven’s massive, 8’ x 16’ portrait of the President titled Unafraid and Unashamed, the subject of a 1st Amendment law suit brought by the artist against the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. In his suit, Raven claimed the Portrait Gallery refused to show his painting because of institutional bias against Trump, which he argued was a violation of his 1st Amendment right to free speech and 5th Amendment right to due process. U.S. District Court Judge Trevor MacFadden disagreed. “The First Amendment simply does not apply to government art selections, no matter how arbitrary,” he wrote, dismissing the suit. Raven has said he will appeal the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.
“When The Daily Beast broke the story about the lawsuit and Julian’s intention to appeal to the Supreme Court, I decided immediately that a painting titled ‘Unafraid and Unashamed,’ by an artist challenging the Portrait Gallery’s right to curate its own exhibitions in court, must be seen,” said Charles Krause, founding director of CCPArt.
“Not by itself, however,” Krause continued. “Raven’s portrait represents the Good Trump. We have 50 paintings and collages by two superb artists, Jim Boden and Tim Atseff, whose work represents the Bad Trump and the Ugly Trump, respectively. We’ll let those who come to see the show, decide. ...More...
- 2019_DC_CCP_GBUT_190622: DC -- Center for Contemporary Political Art -- Event: Reception for The Good, The Bad & The Ugly and Yello Talk (39 photos from 2019)
- 2019_DC_CCP_GBU: DC -- Center for Contemporary Political Art -- The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (Multiple visits) (280 photos from 2019)
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