Moby-Dick, the forthcoming exhibition at the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, is gonna be a great show. It’s formed around Melvillian motifs and features new and recent contemporary art alongside historical works. The list of artists follows.

Kenneth Anger, Matthew Benedict, Mark Bradford, Marcel Broodthaers, Angela Bulloch, Tom Burr, Edgar Cleijne and Ellen Gallagher, Tacita Dean, Marcel Dzama, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Rodney Graham, John Gutmann, Susan Hiller, Evan Holloway, Peter Hutton, Colter Jacobsen, Brian Jungen, Buster Keaton, Rockwell Kent, Mateo Lopez, Jorge Macchi, Kris Martin, Henrik Olesen, Paulina Olowska, Damián Ortega, Jean Painlevé, Kirsten Pieroth, Adrián Villar Rojas, Richard Serra, Andreas Slominski, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Orson Welles

Pretty much all these artists are amazing, but there are a few that are outstanding for personal reasons. I saw Mark Bradford speak at SFAI a few years back; he’s the kind of bright and sensitive artist I aspire to be. I was greatly impressed by Angela Bulloch‘s highly refined LED-based work in the Leeds Art Gallery. And as a one-time woodcut artist, I was also delighted (in my role as a preparator) to see the inclusion of some beautiful old Rockwell Kent prints.

Moby-Dick will be on view at the Wattis from September 22 to December 12, 2009. The gallery is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11–7, and Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11–6. There will be an opening reception on Tuesday, September 22, from 6:30–8:30. For more info please visit wattis.org.