MCA to host first-ever Mark Mothersbaugh retrospective

The bespectacled, polymath American artist, best known for his work with the experimental rock band DEVO and as the composer behind many Wes Anderson film scores ("Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums", "Moonrise Kingdom") has been the subject of numerous small-scale gallery shows during a career that has so far spanned more than 40 years. 

Colorado galleries that have previously exhibited Mothersbaugh's works include Th'ink Tank Gallery, Andenken Gallery and DC Gallery in Denver and NOWhere Limited in Nederland.

The Museum of Contemporary Art's exhibition, however, marks the first comprehensive solo show devoted to Mothersbaugh to date. 

Mothersbaugh considered his journals and many of his small-scale works on paper to be part of his unedited, private practice before being approached by Lerner about a potential restrospective in 2012. They were not intended for public display.

"I never planned to show these things so I didn't edit myself at all," Mothersbaugh says. "But I got to a point where I was more at ease. I could die anyday now. And, besides, my wife and kids could take all of my stuff and dump it in the trash."

The exhibition will also include a series of illustrated wall rugs embellished with video animations and large-scale, experimental musical instruments fashioned by the artist from old organ pipes and electronics. In addition, a stripped-down, 1950s jukebox playing Mothersbaugh's handmade recordings of his musical works will be on show. 

Following its run in Denver, the exhibition will tour to six other cities in the United States, including New York, Los Angeles and Austin.