Atlanta, Georgia -- The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA) announces its upcoming exhibition, “ARTISTS OF THE HEATH GALLERY, 1965 to 1998.” The exhibit opens April 27 and remains on view through June 30, 2002. The exhibit and the accompanying catalog present a historical perspective, documenting more than 32 years of the Heath Gallery’s contributions to Atlanta and its visual arts community. Many exhibiting artists will be present for the opening reception on April 27, from 10 am until 5 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

In support of the newly opened museum’s mission, the exhibition displays the works of Georgia artists juxtaposed with sculpture, painting and prints by nationally and internationally recognized contemporary artists including Joseph Beuys, Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock, and Robert Rauschenberg. Georgia-based artists include Genevieve Arnold, Beverly Buchanan, Susan Cofer, Herbert Creecy, Jim Fraser, Cheryl Goldsleger, Judy Henson, Jim Herbert, Katherine Mitchell, and Ed Ross among others. Three curators selected work for the exhibition and contributed critical essays to the catalogue: Gudmund Vigtel, Director Emeritus, High Museum of Art; John Howett, Professor Emeritus, Emory University; and Laura Lieberman, Co-Founding Editor of Art Papers and currently Development Director, Robert C. Williams American Museum of Papermaking.

Focusing on the gallery’s early years, Vigtel’s essay discusses the relationship between the Heath Gallery and the High Museum of Art specifically and with the Atlanta arts community in general. Several pieces on display are on loan from the permanent collection of the High Museum, including a work by John Marin. The work was donated to the museum by the Rockefeller family in commemoration of many Atlanta arts patrons who died in the 1962 Orly airplane crash. Museum director Cone-Skelton says, “Gudmund Vigtel’s many years of leadership in the Atlanta visual arts community give him a unique perspective on the art and events of this critical period in the development of Georgia’s cultural milieu.”

Dr. John Howett served as a faculty member and Chair of the Department of Art History at Emory for many years and is thoroughly knowledgeable about the evolution of Atlanta’s art community. He has additionally enjoyed a long career as a curator of exhibitions. “MOCA GA is delighted that this exhibition catalogue will include a distinguished art historian’s point of view,” states museum director Cone-Skelton. “We are also pleased to have Laura Lieberman who has played such a pivotal role in the development of an informed contemporary art audience in Atlanta through her editorship at Art Papers and her arts writing over the years.” Ms. Lieberman served as the director of the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs Arts Clearinghouse and the managing director of Young Audiences of Atlanta Inc. before assuming her current position with the American Museum of Papermaking.

Regarded by many to be one of the most important galleries in the South, Heath Gallery is central to the history of the art environment in Atlanta during the late twentieth century. Heath, an Atlanta native, had been living and collecting art in New York, and upon his return to Atlanta during the early 1960s recognized the need for art galleries here. When David Heath opened the gallery in 1964, few art venues operated in the city and the gallery soon became a beacon for collectors, art enthusiasts, and those simply wanting to learn more about art. The Heath Gallery would establish professional standards for future Atlanta galleries.

In conjunction with the exhibition, “ARTISTS OF THE HEATH GALLERY, 1965 to 1998,” MOCA GA will host its first spring benefit gala on April 25. Maxwell Anderson, Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and former director of the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Art and Archaeology in Atlanta, will be featured as the guest speaker. The Gala Co-chairs are Terry Brown, Suzanne Inman and Cynthia Reid, with Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke and Jane Cofer serving as Junior Co-Chairs for the event.

The mission of the Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia is to collect and archive significant works of the artists in Georgia. MOCA GA seeks to make contemporary visual art more accessible by connecting local, living artists with diverse audiences in order to promote the understanding and appreciation of the visual arts in our state. The museum’s permanent collection contains more than 250 works of art by 110 artists who were born or spent a significant portion of their careers working in Georgia. The collection encompasses a wide range of media, including paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, installation art, and photographs.

MOCA GA is located at 1447 Peachtree Street, three blocks north of the High Museum of Art in Midtown Atlanta. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am until 5 pm, Sunday 12 noon – 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, contact Amy Parry, 404/881-1109.