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Tim ReidyDecember 03, 2008

The name may not be familiar to America readers, but Tooker is among the most important living American artists, according to America editorial director Karen Sue Smith, who reviews an exhibition of of his work here for America Connects.

"George Tooker: A Retrospective" will be at the National Academy Museum in New York through January 4 and then travels to Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio. Tooker is perhaps best known for his Kafkaesque explorations of racism, alienation and isolation, like "Lunch," from 1964. Yet in the last 30 years his work has also explored themes of beauty, peace and community, a transformation that stems in part from his conversion to Catholicism in the 1970s.

To view a slideshow of Tooker’s work, click here.

And in case you missed it, last week Karen reviewed the un-missable exhibit on Marc Chagall’s biblical art now at MOBIA. Read her review here.

Tim Reidy

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