Breaking the Rules: Paul Wonner and Theophilus Brown

About

Though Wonner and Brown were important contributors to the development of Bay Area Figuration, neither have had their work exhibited as often or as prominently as other masters of the style, nor have they received the same level of commercial appreciation. This is due to several factors, including their focus on male-to-male interactions and male nudes, misinterpretations of their important and early position within Bay Area Figuration, and the fact that they spent most of their working years in California rather than New York.

Breaking the Rules reexamines Wonner and Brown’s work in our own era of greater inclusivity, from their contributions to Bay Area Figuration to their artistic accomplishments later in their careers, and it celebrates their divergent backgrounds and unapologetic voices as artists who were both queer and Californian.

This exhibition was organized by the Crocker Art Museum and is generously sponsored by Simon Chiu, Mike Johnson and Taka Oiwa, and John S. Knudsen Trust.