SAMA presents Chocolate: A Photography Exhibition

The San Antonio Museum of Art announces Chocolate: A Photography Exhibition, opening to the public September 6th. The exhibition will feature the work of four conceptual artists who use chocolate as a source material for making photographs. The exhibition will be on view during FotoSeptiembreUSA, San Antonio ’s annual version of Fotofest.

The exhibition will present the work of Frédéric Lebain, Priscilla Monge, Vik Muniz, and Chuck Ramirez. Each artist has a different way of using chocolate in their work. Lebain, from Paris , creates monochromatic chocolate colored still life photographs by spray-painting obsolete technological objects with chocolate and photographing them against chocolate-colored backgrounds. Monge is a conceptual artist from Costa Rica who photographs pieces of chocolate that she has embellished with Catholic imagery.

Muniz has received international acclaim for his “Pictures of Chocolate.” In this series, he replicates well-known images from art history or popular culture in chocolate syrup, and then photographs them. San Antonio artist Chuck Ramirez works in a photographic style derived from commercial advertising to investigate social, economic, and identity issues. His recent series of empty chocolate boxes calls attention to desire and gluttony, while also pointing to economic disparities revealed in the brand of chocolate one consumes.

The exhibition is curated by David S. Rubin, The Brown Foundation of Curator of Contemporary Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Rubin has organized numerous thematic exhibitions, including It’s Only Rock and Roll: Rock and Roll Currents in Contemporary Art, Old Glory: The American Flag in Contemporary Art, Photography Now, and Birdspace: A Post-Audubon Artists Aviary.

Chocolate: A Photography Exhibition is made possible by the generous support of Peter M. Holt, Julianna Hawn Holt, and the Holt Foundation. The exhibition is presented in conjunction with FotoSeptiembre USA .

Programming to support this exhibition includes:
Members Preview
Friday, September 5th, 6-8 p.m.
For information or to join, please e-mail membership@samuseum.org

Food for Thought: Drop-in Family Day
Sunday, September 7th, 1 to 5 p.m.
Free with Museum admission
Families are invited to explore the exhibition and discover how food can be used to create original works of art! Don’t miss a special screening of David Wolper’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at 4 pm!

A Conversation with Chuck Ramirez
Tuesday, September 9th, 6:30 p.m.
Free
The artist will be interviewed by David S. Rubin

Vik Muniz: Master of Invention
Tuesday, September 23rd, 6:30 p.m.
Free
Lecture by David S. Rubin

Dawn of Chocolate: Archaeological Exploration in Honduras
by Dr. John Henderson
Sunday, November 16th, 3 p.m.
Free with Museum admission
Reception to follow
Dr. John Henderson is Senior Professor of Archaeology, Cornell University
This lecture is part of The Bank of America Lecture Series.
Please RSVP by November 10 at membership@samuseum.org

Chocolate Alice
Thursday, November 20th
A Benefit for Contemporary Art at SAMA, honoring Alice Carrington Foultz
For more information, please call 210.978.8106.
For more information on Chocolate: A Photography Exhibition, and a complete list of events and exhibitions open to the public, visit samuseum.org.

Leigh Baldwin
Communications Manager
San Antonio Museum of Art
200 West Jones Avenue
San Antonio, TX 78215
www.samuseum.org