The Seattle Art Fair, which will run from the August 3-6, is due to host the first ever exhibition focused on the visual art of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. UTA Artist Space, who are usually LA-based, are bringing Cobain’s work home for their debut in Seattle. Cobain’s work will be featured alongside work by his contemporaries, influences, and people who appear to share his sensibility, such as Mike Kelley, Nate Lowman, Joe Bradley, Elizabeth Peyton, and others.
The two paintings will be shown with a selection of Cobain’s notebooks. The pieces have all been in storage since his death in 1994, but UTA are hoping that by showing them in the birthplace of Cobain’s music, “a new light will be shed on his oeuvre, even to fans well-versed in his work”. On the decision to host Cobain’ work in Seattle rather than LA, Joshua Roth, the director for UTA said that, “he was born near there, he passed away there, and he created the soundtrack for a counterculture there”.
United Talent Agency have represented Courtney Love for a long time, and last year they gained representation of Cobain’s estate. Roth is planning to: “create a touring exhibition that really tells the story of who Kurt was through artworks, personal artifacts and memorabilia, sort of like what the Rolling Stones did in London.”, while one team at UTA is working to develop a feature-length motion picture about Kurt Cobain’s life.
The artwork could become part of a, “touring exhibition” as Roth says that there are “dozens” of artworks in the estate including paintings, drawings, and sculptures. While some work from the exhibition will be on sale, Cobain’s will not. Roth said, “it’s too hard to put a price on them. They’re very special to the family.” The Seattle Art Fair will also include an outdoor installation by Jenny Holzer, work by Nancy Rubin, and an installation by Dylan Mira and Erika Vogt among many others.
