Foreword

Since the founding of CK Contemporary in 2013, our mission has been to actively seek out the best contemporary artists in the world and bring them to San Francisco. While we will always proudly pursue that goal, 2020 transformed every part of our life and the world around us. Galleries closed or went digital, and I, like so many, started to wonder if anything we had done before could be relevant once again. Though faced with the same doubt and dread that touched us all, I was resolute that the only way forward was to broaden my vision for the gallery rather than diminish it. We proceeded with our physical expansion into the beautiful multi-level gallery on Powell Street that we now call home. After many months of forced distance, I believe now more than ever that seeing and experiencing important art in person is an invaluable gift. The real expansion, however, came in the form of the story of art and history that I wanted CK Contemporary to tell. From this place of introspection, I found myself looking back towards the generation of artists whose shoulders so many of our contemporaries have stood upon. It was then that a 1957 catalog from the Whitney Museum of American Art stopped me dead in my tracks and set me on a serendipitous path whose destination was the life, work and legacy of Jack Wolfe. Seeing Wolfe’s paintings for the first time was like a jolt of electricity. Massive canvases, swirling color, odd shapes and confronting portraits, were all filled with a quality of conviction and assuredness that mirrored my commitment to this new direction for the gallery. Further research exposed the story of a man who navigated life and art on his own terms, always outside the lines, yet unwavering in his principles and creative beliefs. “What you know is a security … I have to risk everything every time,” he said in an interview on the occasion of his fifth exhibition at the deCordova Museum in 1961. Embodying that same ideology, but without knowing what I would find, I hit send on an email that I hoped would make its way to the Wolfe family. Little did I know, I sent that email on Jack’s birthday, and what I found was an extraordinary family and a body of work that exceeded every expectation I could have imagined. When you want a plant to grow, you put it in a larger pot. When you want a gallery to expand in alternative directions, you find an artist whose work is so powerfully compelling that it propels you toward new objectives. Representing the Wolfe estate has been one of the greatest honors of my professional career. To share his story is a privilege and a joy and I feel that the legacy of CK Contemporary is now entwined with the legacy of this exceptional painter. Jack’s wife Laurie, his daughters Twyla and Jen, and his son-in-law Ben, have been a remarkable source of information, documentation, and guidance throughout this project, and none of this would be possible without their loving stewardship of his work. This exhibition marks the beginning of a long partnership between CK Contemporary and the Wolfe estate, and we invite you to join us on this thrilling journey Beyond the Known.

Lauren Ellis Partner/Director CK Contemporary