Jorg Dubin: Paintings from the 2000s

JORG

DUBIN

PAINTINGS FROM THE 2000s

JORG DUBIN Paintings from the 2000s

Curated by Genevieve Williams 1 December 2023 - 28 January 2024

The Honarkar Foundation Established 2019 Exhibition Space Opened 2023 Founders Mohammad Honarkar Hasty Honarkar Nikki Honarkar-Bostwick Curator Genevieve Williams

298 Broadway Street Laguna Beach, CA 92651 hello@thehonarkarfoundation.org www.thehonarkarfoundation.org

This catalogue is proudly published by The Honarkar Foundation on the occasion of its inauguration.

The Honarkar Foundation is an institution dedicated to supporting and promoting arts, culture, and education in Laguna Beach. The Foundation envisions a world where the arts and humanities are not exclusive privileges, but rather cherished resources that inspire, empower, and connect.

The Honarkar Foundation and the Artist

Introduction A resident of Laguna Beach since 1976, Jorg Dubin (b. 1955) holds an almost-legendary status within the local community, both for his enduring presence as one of the longest-working artists in the area and as arguably one of the most accomplished contemporary artists associated with Laguna Beach.

Over the course of four decades, Dubin has displayed his artistic versatility, engaging in various media such as ceramics, sculpture, paintings, public installations, and production design. A pivotal juncture in his artistic journey occurred during the mid-1990s when he studied under the guidance of renowned painter Stephen W. Douglas at the Art Institute of Southern California, now known as the Laguna College of Art and Design. This mentorship refined Dubin’s talent and skill for figurative painting, a medium that has become the hallmark of his career.

In an era where figurative painting is often overshadowed, Dubin remains dedicated to representation, employing a traditional medium to tackle contemporary subject matter. Informed by the rich history of portraiture and influenced by social, political and environmental events, Dubin’s work captures the essence of the moment in which it was created. Whilst the viewer can play voyeur with traditional portraits, Dubin’s more subversive paintings compel the viewer to actively engage, challenging them to reflect on their own place and position within the depicted moment. Through these portraits, Dubin explores the complexities of the human condition, addressing themes such as race, gender, sexuality, politics, and power dynamics. Dubin’s paintings collectively serve a greater purpose, acting as time capsules that will narrate the stories of his era long into the future.

When the opportunity came up to curate the inaugural exhibition for The Honarkar Foundation, Jorg Dubin was the first artist to come to mind. To be able to curate a comprehensive survey show, spanning twenty-years of Dubin’s career, in a museum-quality space in his hometown is a moment of exceptional significance. This exhibition not only allows for the celebration of Jorg’s artistic journey but also grants his work the well-deserved recognition it has earned over the years.

Genevieve Williams Curator

Mr. Pink, Reflected 2005 Oil on Linen 30 x 24 inches

Self-Portrait After Beckmann 2012 Oil on Linen 54 x 40 inches

Jorg Dubin: Stepping Back to Scrutinize

by John Seed When Jorg Dubin painted his Self-Portrait After

something more rude and upsetting, an image that

Beckmann in 2012, he borrowed the portrait’s

transmits a weird mix of submission, provocation,

posture and hauteur from an iconic German

and possibly complicity. It is, among other things, a

Expressionist canvas: Max Beckmann’s 1927 Self

painting that could have only been painted during

Portrait in Tuxedo. Standing with arms akimbo,

the Trump presidency.

glaring inquisitively and dangling a lit cigarette between two fingers, Dubin’s image manages to

“Creative people should say things about the time

project the same kind of sophisticated remove that

we live in,” Dubin opines. “I’m drawn towards

Beckmann’s self depiction broadcasts. An idea

paintings that are derived from current events.” By

that Dubin shares with Beckmann—that an artist

consistently placing human figures in his art—

should play the dual role of being part of society

including many female nudes—and using them as

while also stepping back to scrutinize it—is at the

vehicles to comment on human situations, Dubin

heart of this homage and also an essential value

sees himself connected to the longstanding

that animates his challenging oeuvre.

traditions of Western art. If Classical and mythological paintings, on view in museums across

Both self-portraits were painted during moments

the world, present images of war, rape, and

of relative stability that preceded ominous political

nudity, why shouldn’t he extend that tradition?

swings—one during the heyday of Weimar,

Nudity, which appeals to our prurient interests, is a

Germany, the other midway through Barack

time-tested way of seducing viewers into

Obama’s presidency—by artists who were keenly

engagements with art and the ideas and events it

attuned to social contexts. Six years later, two years

can synthesize.

into the Trump presidency, Dubin painted another self-portrait, M.A.G.A: A Portrait (2018) in which

To keep things lively, Dubin charges his art with a

the naked artist leans forward in a submissive pose,

fair amount of what Venetian painters of the 16th

grasps his knees and displays an American flag

and 17th centuries called “poesia,” a term that

planted in his ass. The refined emanations of the

connotes an enigmatic and poetic range of

earlier self-portrait have now bloomed into

possible interpretations. Once a Dubin painting has

a viewer’s attention it is up to them to decipher, as

grounds modified with white, is unified by bold

the artist himself doesn’t provide firm meanings. And

lighting effects and carefully placed highlights. The

in Dubin’s view any painting that engages its

fact that Dubin’s portraits are so emphatically

audience by stimulating and possibly upsetting them

“painted” is part of their allure. Each portrait

is doing its job. For that reason, and because Dubin

presents us with a human being who Dubin has

uses painting as a form of free speech, his portraits

rendered in a way that complicates and

are rarely met with indifference.

contextualizes their presence towards deeper meanings. Like the image of Jorg Dubin as Max

A House Divided (2020), which depicts a black

Beckmann, they stare out at us and scrutinize. If you

model wrapped in a blood-stained American flag, is

are feeling brave enough, you should stare back and

a discomforting image that summons us to consider

do the same.

the messy intersections of racism and patriotism. In Supreme Decision (2020), a downcast, nightgown clad model with one breast exposed holds a paddle and a coat-hanger. As the title and the coat hanger tell us, this is a painting about abortion rights that encourages visual inspection and spirted discussion.

Even in his more comical portraits like American Standard (2013), in which a towel-clad woman smiles anxiously behind the open door of a Pepto Bismol pink bathroom, Dubin relies on his audience’s voyeurism to draw them in and raise questions. “Just what is actually going on here?” works well for American Standard and for a host of other earlier portraits.

Painted energetically with broad strokes of oil paint and visible impasto, Dubin’s portraits tend towards realism but are never overly refined. Random drips of paint and glimpses of underpainting offer reminders that the finished canvases are the result of a creative process that involves scraping, pacing and pondering.

His palette, which favors earth tones, primaries and

A House Divided 2020 Oil on Linen 56 x 30 inches

Distressed 2022 Oil on Linen 52 x 36 inches

The Orange Stand 2020 Oil on Linen 84 x 60 inches

M.A.G.A: A Portrait 2018 Oil on Linen 60 x 48 inches

F.U.D.T 2018 Oil on Linen 54 x 32 inches

Closed 2020 Oil on Linen 52 x 34 inches

Supreme Decision 2020 Oil on Linen 54 x 30 inches

From Russia With Love 2019 Oil on Linen 48 x 35 inches

Fools Rush In 2023 Oil on Linen 48 x 36 inches

Slava Ukraini 2022 Oil on Linen 56 x 30 inches

Tierra Muerte 2022 Oil on Linen 42 x 58 inches

Girl With A Golden Phallus 2001 Oil on Linen 44 x 60 inches

The Birth of Venus 2011 Oil on Linen 54 x 40 inches

Heiress 2007 Oil on Linen 74 x 58 inches

The Artist’s Father at 94 2010 Oil on Linen 54 x 40 inches

That Right Eye Again 2022 Oil on Linen 8 x 6 inches

Walls, Doors, Reflections 2003 Oil on Linen 72 x 60 inches

American Gothic Revisited 2002 Oil on Linen 72 x 58 inches

Bride 2005 Oil on Linen 52 x 37 inches

Twins on a Green Chair 2006 Oil on Linen 52 x 74 inches

Healer 2002 Oil on Linen 58 x 54 inches

Homage To The Culture 2003 Oil on Linen 72 x 50 inches

Hyperion With Tools 2002 Oil on Linen 72 x 46 inches

Sixty Seven 2016 Oil on Linen 35 x 35 inches

Seated Twins 2005-2006 Oil on Linen 52 x 74 inches

Candy 2012 Oil on Linen 54 x 40 inches

Pole Dancer, Amber 2011 Oil on Linen 54 x 40 inches

American Standard 2013 Oil on Linen 54 x 40 inches

Rati with Glazed Deity 2010 Oil on Linen 54 x 40 inches

Agua Rosa 2008 Oil on Linen 64 x 48 inches

Round Midnight 2021 Oil on Linen 52 x 40 inches

Command & Control 2008 Oil on Linen 72 x 48 inches

Princess 2012 Oil on Linen 54 x 40 inches

FBF-1 2014 Oil on Canvas 10 x 8 inches

FBF-2 2014 Oil on Canvas 10 x 8 inches

FBF-196 2013 Oil on Linen 8 x 8 inches

FBF-201 2013 Oil on Linen 10 x 8 inches

FBF-411 2013 Oil on Canvas 8 x 8 inches

FBF-505 2013 Oil on Canvas 10 x 10 inches

JORG DUBIN William D. Cannon Art Gallery, Carlsbad, CA Robert Berman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Art Institute of Southern California Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Hyaena Gallery, Burbank, CA SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2010 Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA OCCCA Gallery, Santa Ana, CA The Honarkar Foundation, Laguna Beach, CA Robert Berman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Andrew Myers Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA The Salmagundi Club, New York, NY Fullerton State University, Grand Central Art Coastline College Art Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA Center, Santa Ana, CA Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA 2009 Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center, Laguna Beach, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA H Gallery, Ventura, CA Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA Paul Williams Gallery, Ontario, CA 2008 Robert Berman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Dab Art, Los Angeles, CA BC Space, Laguna Beach, CA Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wausau, WI Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, Touchstone Gallery, Washington D.C. CA Launch LA, Los Angeles, CA Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA Robert Berman Gallery, San Francisco, CA J. Flynn Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA Launch LA, Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Bruce Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2007 Palos Verdes Art Center, Ranco Palos Verdes, CA Laguna Beach Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, CA Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA BC Space, Laguna Beach, CA Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, Jamie Brooks Fine Art, Costa Mesa, CA CA Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA 2006 Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Riverside Museum of Art, Riverside, CA Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA 2005 Laguna College of Art and Design, Laguna Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, CA Beach, CA Palazzo della Provincia di Frosinone, Italy Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Robert Berman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA BC Space Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA LCAD Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Robert Berman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, CA 2004 Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA BC Space Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA Q Art Salon, Santa Ana, CA Robert Berman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Robert Berman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2003 Palm Springs Museum, Palm Springs, CA S Cube Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA BC Space, Laguna Beach, CA Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman University, Orange, CA Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Blue Gallery, Kansas City, MO Beach, CA BC Space, Laguna Beach, CA 2002 Robert Berman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Great Park Gallery, Irvine, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA Square Blue Gallery, Newport Beach, CA John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA The Second City Gallery, Long Beach, CA EDUCATION

2023

2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

2015 2014

2013 2012

2011

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS (cont.)

2001 Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach, CA Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2000 Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY Frye Museum, Seattle, WA OCCCA, Santa Ana, CA John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA The Loft Gallery, San Pedro, CA Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, CA San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, CA 1999 California State University, Los Angeles, CA Period Gallery, Omaha, NE Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, CA Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA 1998 BC Space, Laguna Beach, CA Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, CA 1997 Site Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA Chapman University Guggenheim Gallery, Orange, CA Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA 1996 La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA The Loft Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Chapman University Guggenheim Gallery, Orange, CA 1995 F.A.C.T Exhibition Space, Laguna Beach, CA 1994 Mendenhall Gallery, Pasadena, CA Concordia University, Irvine, CA Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach, CA Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 1993 Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA 1992 South Bay Contemporary Museum of Art, Torrance, CA BC Space, Laguna Beach, CA Nese Gallery, Santa Ana, CA 1991 Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Modern Museum of Art, Santa Ana, CA 1990 Koll Center, Newport Beach, CA Diane Nelson Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA Gallery of Functional Art, Los Angeles, CA Artworks Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA Kimzey/Miller Gallery, Seattle, WA 1989 Diane Nelson Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 1984 Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1983 Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Marcia Rodell Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Gallery Eight, La Jolla, CA

1982 Marcia Rodell Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Mount St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles, CA 1981 Mills House Gallery, Garden Grove, CA 1980 Senior Eye Gallery, Long Beach, CA AWARDS / PRIZES 2015 BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London, England (Semi-Finalist) 2006 The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washingon, D.C. SELECTED COLLECTIONS Bank of America Laguna Art Museum City of Laguna Beach Concordia University Laguna College of Art & Design Museum of Art and History City of Brea I Base T, Corporation The Colbert Report The Daily Show Sanderson J. Ray Development / AIG President Barack Obama Mr. Bill Maher / Real Time Mr. John Waters Mr. Barry Brief Mr. and Mrs. Donald Beall Mr. Jeffery Evans Tucker Mr. Mike Kunin Mr. Ryan Murphy Mr. Michael Ray SELECTED PRESS Russell, Diane. ‘Jorg Dubin: Unfiltered In His Approach to Life and Art’, Stu News Laguna, December 2023 Fried, Billy. ‘Culture Comes to Laguna’, Laguna Beach Independent, 8 December 2023 McMurray, Barbara. ‘Once Strictly Private Museum-Style Space Will Open to Public with Daring Art Exhibition’, Laguna Beach Independent, 24 November 2023 Hansen, David. ‘See Ben Franklin Blush’, Under

SELECTED PRESS (cont.)

Laguna, 2 November 2023 Goldner, Liz. ‘Final Swing / Repeat’, Art and Cake, LA, March 2023 Gowen, Samantha. ‘Mercury Falling Makes a Splash in Irvine’, OC Register, 7 October 2022 Goldner, Liz. ‘Jorg Dubin: An Artist of Conviction’, Visual Art Source, October 2020 Davis, Genie. ‘From Russia With Love’, Launch LA, June 2019 Himmelsbach-Weinstein, Erik. ‘Brush Strokes for the Soul’, Coast Magazine, May 2017 Barton, Dave. ‘Amerikan Krazy, Life Out of Balance’, OC Weekly, April 2016 Goldner, Liz. ArtScene Magazine, October 2015 American Art Collector Magazine, March 2015 Oceanside Museum of Art, ‘California Dreaming’ Exhibition Catalogue, 2014 Bernhard, Cindy. ‘Jorg Dubin’, iARTistas Magazine, Issue #12, October 2014 Menendez, Didi. ‘Jorg Dubin’, Poets and Artists Magazine, September 2014 Goldner, Liz. ‘Jorg Dubin, Facebook Friends’, Art Scene, March 2014 Bose, Lilledeshan, ‘The Social Art of Jorg Dubin’, KCET, 2013 Mickadeit, Frank. ‘9/11 Artist Carried The Weight’, OC Register, September 2011 Richie, Erika. ‘Laguna Relives 9/11 Through Monument’, OC Register, September 2011 Clay, Joanna. ‘Remembering Always’, Coastline Pilot, September 2011 Diamond, Barbara. ‘9/11 Memorial in Laguna Beach’, Los Angeles Times, July 2011 Willette, Jeanne. ‘Jorg Dubin’, Visual Art Source, Artscene Magazine, August 2011 Walsh, Daniella. ‘Mything in Action’, Artscene Magazine, April 2010 Walsh, Daniella. ‘Fight Club, Jorg Dubin, SUBMIT’, Riviera Magazine, April 2010 Harp, Grady. ‘Jorg Dubin: Review’, Poets and Artists Magazine, January 2010 Goldner, Liz. ‘World of Warcraft’, Artillery Magazine, August 2009 Chang, Richard. ‘World of Warcraft Leads to Laguna’, OC Register, June 2009 Wahlquist, Grant. ‘War Games’, Riviera Magazine, June 2009 Goldner, Liz. ‘WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon’, Artscene, July/August 2009

Carasso, Roberta. ‘Portrait Artist Competes for National Acclaim’, OC Register, November 2005 Mendenhall, Lauri. ‘OC’s Blue Chip Artists’, Coast Magazine, October 2005 Walsh, Daniella. ‘Not A Temporary Contemporary’, Riviera Magazine, September 2005 Walsh, Daniella. ‘OCCCA 25th Anniversary Exhibition’, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art Register, July 2005 Walsh, Daniella. ‘Jorg Dubin at Robert Berman”, ArtScene Magazine, Vol. 24, No. 7, March 2005 Carasso, Roberta. ‘Orange County Artists Set the Scene’, OC Register, November 2004 Goldner, Liz. ‘Artistic Dialogue’, OC METRO, November 2004 Ollman, Leah. ‘Vibrant Shades of Orange County’, Los Angeles Times, December 2004 Chang, Richard. ‘Celebrating O.C.’s Own Scene’, OC Register, November 2004 Dalkey, Victoria. ‘Reinterpreting the Three Graces’, Sacramento Bee, November 2004 Griffith, Jackson. ‘Splendor, Mirth, and Good Cheer’, News Review, November 2004 Schoenkopf, Rebecca. ‘Now That’s What I Call Art’, OC Weekly, November 2004 Walsh, Daniella. ‘Mean Times Strikes a Balance’, OC Register, October 2004 Carasso, Roberta. ‘Jorg Dubin Surpasses Himself’, OC Register, December 2003 Walsh, Daniella. ‘Portrait Artist Jorg Dubin Captures Reality’, Riviera Magazine, October 2003 Carasso, Roberta. ‘Five artists Portray Varying Perceptions of the Human Form’, OC Register/News Post, August 2003 Schoenkopf, Rebecca. ‘All This Senseless Beauty’, OC Weekly, August 2003 Mendenhall, Lauri. ‘Unexpected Moods’, Coast Magazine, December 2002 Walsh, Daniella. ‘Art For Many Preferences’, OC Register, December 2002 Carasso, Roberta. ‘Jorg Dubin, Recent Paintings’, Artscene Magazine, December 2002 Haithman, Diane. ‘Where Rubbernecks Meet Rubber Noses’, Los Angeles Times, October 2002 Mendenhall, Lauri. ‘Painter’s Painters’, Coast Magazine, May 2002 Carasso, Roberta. ‘Telling Visual Stories Through Portrait’, Orange County Home, April 2002 Carasso, Roberta. ‘Artist Depicts Human Condition’, OC Register, 1 August 2001

Schoenkopf, Rebecca. ‘Dark, But Not Sad’, OC Weekly, 2 August 2001 Fuglie, Gordon. ‘Representing L.A’, JUXTAPOZ MAGAZINE, Volume 9, Number 3, May/June 2001 Fuglie, Gordon. ‘A New Exhibit...’, Southwest Art, January 2001 Hackett, Regina. ‘LA Realists Reach for Edge at Frye’, Seattle Union Record, December 2000 Farr, Shelia. ‘A Breath of Fresh Air from LA’, Seattle Union Record, December 2000 Wagonfeld, Judy. ‘Inside LaLa Land: Frye Show Exposes a Swatch of Grit’, Seattle Post Intelligencer, December 2000 Pucci, Carol. ‘Seattle Plays Host to an Exhibit that Can’t Find a Home In California’, Seattle Times, December 2000 American Artist Magazine, Special Issue, ‘REALISM TODAY’, ISSN 0002-7375, October 2000 Carasso, Roberta. ‘Dubin Spreads Allegorical Realism’, The Register, December 1999 Tapley, George. ‘Courting the Muse’, Cal State Fullerton, Artweek, June 1999 Schoenkopf, Rebecca. ‘Next Please, What the World Needs is a Good Renaissance’, Orange County Weekly, April 1999 Von Mizener, Donna and Novikoff, Nadia. ‘Courting the Muse’, Catalogue, California State University, Fullerton Besbris, Becki. ‘Artists Present Edgy Urban Exhibit’, The Register, May 1998 Schoenkopf, Rebecca. ‘Real Art, A Must See’, Orange County Weekly, March 1997 Poeschl, Sian. ‘Questions, Not Answers, Fill Artist’s Work’, The Register, June 1997

THIS CATALOGUE HAS BEEN PUBLISHED ON THE OCCASION OF THE EXHIBITION JORG DUBIN | PAINTINGS FROM THE 2000s 1 DECEMBER 2023 - 28 JANUARY 2024

CATALOGUE DESIGN: GENEVIEVE WILLIAMS INSTALLATION PHOTOGRAPHY: GENEVIEVE WILLIAMS COPYRIGHT: THE HONARKAR FOUNDATION