Tickets

• FREE WITH RSVP (RSVP BY AUGUST 25TH TO larryriversrsvp@gmail.com)

The Church is a program partner for a panel discussion following a sneak preview screening of the new documentary Larry Rivers: Bad Boy of the Art World. The panel will feature the film’s director and producer, Peter Rosen, The Church’s Co-Founder Eric Fischl, who knew Rivers, Lana Jokel, local filmmaker, and gallerist/collector Louis Meisel, all friends of the artist who died in 2002. It will be moderated by The Church’s Chief Curator, Sara Cochran.

Drawing on the film, the panelist will explore the career and life of Rivers, an extravagant and provocative figure of the 20th-century art world. His paintings and sculptures were a unique blend of abstract expressionism and realism. This led him to be seen as a proto-pop artist and credited as the “Godfather” or “Grandfather” of Pop Art. His artistic iconoclasm matched the transgressive hedonism of his personal life—addictions, multiple marriages, sexual affairs with women and men, including Frank O’Hara, and shocking antics. However, his controversial sexualized life has raised questions that have only become louder over the past few years and colored the current conversation about Rivers’ work. How do we talk about the balance between an artist’s work and their life and behavior?

Larry Rivers: Bad Boy of the Art World is a Peter Rosen Productions Inc. Production. Executive producers include Susan Meisel and Louis K. Meisel, with Creative Direction by Lana Jokel. The music is by Steve Ulrich, with music supervision and editing by Jed Parker.