Louis Cameron, American, born 1973; stills from Heineken, 2007; digital video on DVD; Saint Louis Art Museum, Funds given by Elissa and Paul Cahn and Joan and Mitchell Markow 21:2008; Images courtesy of the artist.

Louis Cameron, born in 1973 in Columbus, Ohio, first gained critical acclaim in 2001 for his Grid Paintings, distorted floorbound polychromatic grid formations that playfully subvert the rigid structural format of minimalism. Today, he continues to challenge established art historical categories by transforming emblems of consumer culture into abstract color field works. His Color Bar Paintings, for example, are nonrepresentational renderings of the circular and square markings found on the inner flaps of product boxes. By transforming these markings into paintings, the artist sets up a dialogue between the aesthetic of minimalism and consumer culture. His most ambitious color bar painting to date is massive in scale, measuring 8 x 19 feet.

The abstraction in Heineken is less diagrammatic and more emotive than in his paintings. Through distortion and cropping, Cameron transforms an image of a six-pack of beer into a painterly abstraction that suggests a river of color flowing beyond the frame. Color becomes an element that adds to the pace and mood of the work. Whether painting or new media, Cameron's art references the tension among minimalism, abstraction, and consumer culture. Often his works are titled after well-known brands of food or drink.

Cameron, who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, received his BFA at the University of Southern California, an MFA at the Tyler School of Art in Pennsylvania, and was in residency at the Studio Museum in Harlem from 2002 to 2003. Since 2000 he has enjoyed 11 solo exhibitions at galleries in New York City, Los Angeles, and recently at Jim Schmidt Contemporary Art, St. Louis. He is represented by I-20 Gallery, NYC.

The Saint Louis Art Museum is pleased to add Louis Cameron's Heineken, a captivating and colorful new media piece that straddles the realms of formal abstraction and consumer culture, to its permanent collection. The generosity of Elissa and Paul Cahn and Joan and Mitchell Markow has made this acquisition possible.

Curated by Charlotte Eyerman, curator of modern and contemporary art, Heineken will be on view January 9 through March 29, 2009, in Gallery 301. The Museum's New Media Series features installations by living artists whose work utilizes digital media, engaging the audience through both film and sound.

This installation is part of the Museum's African American Celebration. Learn more about the celebration by clicking here!