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Pop Surrealism in Miami
Harold Golen with Raising the Brow, by Ron English, which is part of his collection.
An Interview with Harold Golen
Harold Golen could fall victim to a great deal of presumptions, especially running a gallery specializing in a distinctive facet of Pop art. Yet since 2008, the Harold Golen Gallery in Wynwood has been the singular source of whimsical but thought-provoking fine art and publications in the vein of Pop Surrealism. But Golen’s background and creative pursuits reach further back than the recent, meteoric rise of Miami’s version of Chelsea (New York). In this interview, Golen describes the origins and path of Pop Surrealism and what lies ahead as Miami continuously develops its visual arts identity.
By Shana B. Mason
Shana B. Mason - To begin, how did it begin?
Harold Golen - I had a store on South Beach that I opened in 1996 and sold in 2006. Its name was Pop. I had collectibles and clothing and real funky stuff. I would go to the Fashion Expo, called Magic, in Las Vegas every year, and I would see all the latest hip artists who were doing work for t-shirts, like Shepard Fairey. I was buying work from him. Even before he started his line, he would put his stickers up everywhere, and that’s how he got noticed. I was starting to get into these new artists.
S.B.M. - When you say ‘new stuff,’ did it revolve around Pop or did it have its own lilt? Pop in the general sense is Warhol, Lichtenstein, etc. You must have seen something unique that you liked.
H.G. - I really liked vintage, really good work in the sense of the 50s and 60s cartoons such as the work of Shag, Tim Biskup, and Mark Ryden. I started getting really excited about it. I said, ‘Oh, look! There’s some cool stuff coming out of the art world, finally!’
Pooch, Thrill Ride, acrylic on board
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S.B.M. - Is there an outlet for this? Hi-Fructose Magazine is the most well-known media source, and then there’s Juxtapoz Magazine, which borders on street art.
H.G. - Well, Juxtapoz [at] first was the one showing this type of art called Pop Surrealism. Juxtapoz was started by Robert Williams [of the ZAP Collective, known for his take on underground art]. He was promoting this type of work originally called ‘low-brow.’ It started with custom-car culture, like pinstriping, which started becoming popular again. And artists started going in other directions, such as being influenced by paint-by-numbers, of course comic book art, Black Velvet paintings, TV memorabilia, vintage collectible toys from the mid-century, and illustration art. It’s all the ephemera that was considered garbage. Pop Surrealism, I probably started hearing that term in 2005-2006. Here you had fine oil painters and sculptors, people who work in the Old World techniques. It hadn’t been popular for quite some time to work in traditional media. It was Pop imagery used in a Surrealist-type way. It made sense to me. Hi-Fructose started a better quality magazine just focusing on Pop Surrealism. The thing is, the underground is becoming mainstream now.
S.B.M.- There seems to be a push here in Miami to have a lot of cerebral, intellectual, conceptual art. But you’re keeping it real, so to speak.
H.G. - Not to say anything bad about conceptual art; but sometimes it does not appreciate craftsmanship. It’s more about appreciating the concept. It doesn’t really need to be produced. This is reactionary to where it’s the subject matter, the technique, the color, but relating to this generation from mid-century until the 21st century. Pop Surrealism has gone off in different directions: there are people who do the goth-looking ‘dark side’ (with a slight whimsical quality), then you have the ‘cute’ direction, very girly.
S.B.M. - In the spirit of Harajuku.
H.G. - Exactly. Then there’s a Tiki movement, lounge imagery. There’s a Mod direction, a tattoo direction, space-age. However, street art is popular now; it started with graffiti with Pop Surrealists doing outdoor murals mixed with the urban. I know that art will evolve-the art that I show will evolve-but the art I show will always have a whimsical, colorful, twisted quality. I started in 2007 with any artist who would show with me, considering I was a gallery coming from nowhere.
S.B.M. - I understand that the original gallery existed elsewhere in Wynwood.
H.G. - It was on 29th Street and 6th Avenue. It was about 4-5,000 square feet. I did it in a ultra-mod style. Unfortunately, in December (of ‘07), there was a huge fire from the re-done electrical work. That set me back quite a bit. I had to go into a temporary space to gather myself. Later I had an offer to buy the building. I sold it, and I’ve been renting this 850-square-foot space starting, I think, in January 2009. The location here is much better.
Scott Scheidly, Allegory of Free Masonry, oil on board
S.B.M. - It must have been a real throwback to start over again during the economic meltdown.
H.G. - It was my opportunity and I took it.
S.B.M. - Tell me about your own collection.
H.G. - I have a fantastic collection of Pop Surrealist art. I bought it when it wasn’t rock-bottom prices but just at the point of becoming expensive. There’s no way I could afford my collection now! I do have a large collection of vintage illustration art. Then I have some antique pieces, but mostly Pop Surrealism.
S.B.M. - So what’s next for you?
H.G. - I’ve been given a great opportunity to be the go-to gallery in Miami for original photographs from Bunny Yeager. She’s been working since the 1950s, taking the famous Bettie Page photos in Miami. It used to be all about Page, but this next show I’m doing is all about her [Yeager]. She’s 81 years old and she chose the images.
I want to be cutting-edge, but I do have to like what I’m showing. Sometimes I think that my work doesn’t have the sophistication of other galleries, but that’s not what I’m about. Most of the stuff at Art Basel, I don’t understand it. It’s just a re-hash of this style and that. I still appreciate colorful, whimsical, twisted things. I’m open to anything; it just has to suit me.
Harold Golen Gallery is located at 2294 NW 2nd Ave. Miami, Florida 33127. www.haroldgolengallery.com / harold@haroldgolengallery.com
Shana B. Mason is a South Florida-based art critic and consultant. She pursued an M.A. with a focus on Modern and Contemporary Art from Christie’s Education in London.
