Anthony Ausgang (born Anthony Charles Grant Thompson, May 22, 1959) is an artist and writer born in Pointe-à-Pierre, Trinidad and Tobago[1] in 1959 who lives and works in Los Angeles.[2] Ausgang is a principal painter associated with the Lowbrow art movement,[3][4][5] one of "the first major wave of lowbrow artists" to show in Los Angeles in the early 1980s.[6] The protagonists of his paintings are cats[7] -- "psychedelic, wide eyed, with a kind of evil look in their eyes".[8]

Biography

He was schooled at the Otis Art Institute[9] in Los Angeles. In 1990, Ausgang had his first solo show at the 01 Gallery in Hollywood.[10] Among the places he has exhibited are: La Luz de Jesus, The Laguna Art Museum's "Kustom Kulture" show, Kantor Gallery. Merry Karnowsky Gallery, Roq La Rue Gallery,[3] LA Municipal Gallery, and Copro Gallery.[11][12] In 2009, Ausgang's work was included in the exhibition Apocalypse Wow! at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome in Italy,[13] and in late 2012, Ausgang was the featured international artist at the Rewind show in Bologna celebrating the 50th anniversary of Fender guitar in Italy.[14]

By 1993, Ausgang's artistic production consisted of customized cars,[15] original acrylic paintings,[2] and commercial merchandise,[16] including clothing,[17] puzzles,[18] toys,[19] lighters,[20] and posters.[21] Laguna Art Museum commissioned Ausgang to design a hole for a miniature golf course exhibit at South Coast Plaza in 1996.[22] As a "successful artist who appears in several magazines and exhibitions a year", Ausgang also boasts an impressive list of commercial clients including Tower Records, MTV, Sony Music and David Lee Roth.[23] In 2003, Ausgang designed the cover for Dude Descending a Staircase, the fourth studio album by the British band Apollo 440.[2]

In 2010, Ausgang did the cover art for MGMT's album Congratulations,[24][25][26][27] "an eye grabbing illustration that could easily been found on a Grateful Dead release circa 1974"[28] which was nominated by NME for the Best Art Vinyl of 2010.[29] In 2011, Ausgang designed the Christmas windows for the La Rinascente Department Store in Milan with larger-than-life three-dimensional models of his trademark psychedelic cartoon cats.[30]

KeroseneBomb published Ausgang's first fiction book The Sleep of Puss Titter: A Lysenkoist Life in the Random-Word Generation in 2011.[31] "Vacation from Reality" is the anthology of his major artworks up to 2007.[2] His artwork is featured in several anthologies, including Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art by Matt Dukes Jordan[6] and Pop Surrealism by Kirsten Anderson.[3] LA Weekly magazine commissioned a painting by Ausgang for their annual "Best Of ... " special issue in 2000.[32] In 2011, Anthony Ausgang received the lifetime achievement award at Beyond Eden's annual art fair at Barnsdall Art Park.[33][34]

Books

• Vacation from Reality: The Art of Anthony Ausgang (9mm Books, 2007) ISBN 978-0-9766-3250-4
• Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art by Matt Dukes Jordan, Artist Anthology (Chronicle Books, 2005) ISBN 978-0-8118-4241-9
• LA Artland: Contemporary Art from Los Angeles by Chris Kraus, Ariana Fox, Artist Anthology (Black Dog Publishing, 2005) ISBN 978-1-9047-7230-9
• Pop Surrealism by Kirsten Anderson, Artist Anthology (Last Gasp, 2004) ISBN 978-0-8671-9618-4
• Morning Wood by Roger Gastman, Artist Anthology (Gingko Press, 2003) ISBN 978-1-58423-159-2
• Taboo: The Art of Tiki by Martin McIntosh, Artist Anthology (Outre Gallery Press, 1999) ISBN 978-0-6463-7731-5
• Kustom Kulture by Ron Turner, Artist Anthology (Last Gasp, 1993) ISBN 978-0-8671-9405-0
• Juxtapoz Car Culture by Kevin Thomson, Artist Anthology (Gingko Press, 2009) ISBN 978-1-5842-3347-3

References

External links

• Anthony Ausgang official website
• List and transcripts of Ausgang interviews
• You-Tube: Ausgang Ausgang channel

На других языках

[it] Anthony Ausgang