Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo opens at Brooklyn Museum, NYC

Bringing together three unsparing chroniclers of their time—Francisco Goya (1746–1828), Sergei Eisenstein (1898–1948), and Robert Longo (b. 1953)—PROOF will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum from September 8, 2017–January 7, 2018.

Spanning eras and continents, each of the three artists witnessed the turbulent transition from one century to another, experiencing the seismic impacts of revolution, civil unrest, and war. While Goya served church and king, Eisenstein the state, and Longo emerged during the rise of the contemporary art market—the dominant benefactors of each period—they all rose to prominence through developing nuanced practices that challenged expectations and demand.

Looking to innovations in technique and technology, each artist has worked across mediums—from painting and printmaking, to sculpture, film, and performance—but all continuously turn to drawing as a primary tool to articulate thinking. Rendering the societal impact of politics and power in black and white, the artists have diversely experimented with narrative visual forms, beyond traditional reportage, to chronicle events and provide an impassioned portrayal of the world around them.

The exhibition, curated by Robert Longo in collaboration with Kate Fowle, Garage Chief Curator, was first on show in Garage in fall 2016.  The American presentation features seven films by Eisenstein projected large-scale in slow motion; thirty-nine prints from Goya’s four major print series, including fourteen from the Brooklyn Museum’s set of the Los Caprichos series; and more than twenty large-scale charcoal drawings by Longo from the last decade, including three that have never been on public view.

A fully illustrated companion book, Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo with essays by journalist, activist, and author Chris Hedges, Guggenheim Museum Artistic Director Nancy Spector; artist Vadim Zakharov; and Kate Fowle, as well as an interview with Robert Longo, is published English, available on Amazon. 

From February 17, 2018 to May 27, 2018 Proof will be on show in Deichtorhallen Hamburg GmbH. 

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Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum
Photo: Jonathan Dorado

Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum
Photo: Jonathan Dorado

Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum
Photo: Jonathan Dorado