LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Hammer Museum presents Hammer Projects: Kaari Upson, on view November 27, 2007 – February 17, 2008. Several years ago, Kaari Upson found some discarded personal items that a guy called Larry (His name has been changed to protect the privacy of the artist) had apparently left behind. He was a lady’s man, into Hugh Hefner and Frisbee and astrology and self-improvement.

Relying on traditional and innovative techniques for character profiling, Upson took on the task of digging into his past, searching for clues to whom he was and why he did the things he did, while at the same time creating fantasy and conjecture. Eventually all objectivity disintegrated. He became her obsession.

For her Hammer Projects exhibition, Upson introduces pieces of Larry’s story in a variety of media including painting, drawing, photography, and video. Blurring the lines of reality and fantasy, public and private, self and the other, Upson demonstrates the ultimately futile task of getting to know someone without ever really knowing him.

Hammer Projects is made possible with support from The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation, Fox Entertainment Group’s Arts Development Fee, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, members of the Hammer Circle, and the David Teiger Curatorial Travel Fund.