Seattle, WA
The Pizza Presidents; Expansion, Prohibitions, War
October 4 – 26, 2012
Opening: First Thursday, Oct 4, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Election Day is rapidly approaching and in anticipation of the heightened buzz, Gallery4Culture is pleased to present, for the month of October, a solo exhibition of exquisitely detailed presidential portraits by regional artist Lorenzo Moog.

Moog launched his ambitious project after viewing a vintage map illustrating the history of U.S. expansion across the continent. Titled, The Pizza Presidents; Expansion, Prohibitions, War, Moog’s body of work consists of 45 small-scale portraits of past American presidents – George Washington through George W. Bush (Obama – being current, not past – appears ‘in process’).

Individual portraits are subtly narrative, presenting among various historically accurate details, visual clues of each administration’s territorial grabs, casualties from armed conflicts and, as applicable, prohibition. The wall-mounted constructions (inspired by the nicho, a popular Latin American folk art object) incorporate collage, found object and a broad array of eccentric materials. Each portrait has as its foundation identical 7 1/2" square individual-size recycled pizza boxes. Completed artworks extend in varying degrees beyond the box, creating as a group an overall installation-like assemblage.

Starting with pizza boxes and recorded history, Lorenzo Moog has created, through material ingenuity and a spirit of invention, a 45-part installation that offers viewers a rich glimpse into our presidential choices (distant past through recent past) that chronicles important aspects and varied impacts of each administration.

About the Artist