Organized by the Walker Art Center, Lifelike invites a close examination of artworks based on commonplace objects and situations, which are startlingly realistic, often playful, and sometimes surreal. This international group exhibition features artists variously using scale, unusual materials, and sly contextual devices to reveal the manner in which their subject’s authenticity is manufactured. Avoiding the brand-name flashiness embraced by 1960s Pop and the slick urban scenes introduced at that time by the Photorealists, the artists in Lifelike investigate the quieter side of the quotidian, choosing potentially overlooked items or moments as subject matter: a paper bag, an eraser, an apple core, a waiting room, an afternoon nap. They also favor a handmade, labor-intensive practice rather than technological enhancements. The resulting works including painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, and video transform the ordinary into something beguiling, loaded with narrative and metaphor, and imbued with an arresting sense of humanity.

Lifelike showcases works from the late 1960s to the present over 50 artists, including Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, James Casebere, Vija Celmins, Keith Edmier, Fischli and Weiss, Kaz Oshiro, Charles Ray, Sam Taylor-Wood, and Ai Weiwei.

Sponsors / Partners

“Lifelike” is organized by the Walker Art Center and made possible by generous support from John L. Thomson and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Additional support for the presentation at the New Orleans Museum of Art is provided by:
Donna Perret Rosen and Benjamin M. Rosen
International Matex Tank Terminals
Anonymous Donor

Accompanying programmatic support is provided by Chevron:
“Lifelike” Artist Panel on November 17th, 2012
Artist’s Perspective on December