The art of selling out and how to relate to other people when your work is so solitary are subjects on the mind of painter Mary Heilmann in the documentary “Waves, Roads, & Hallucinations.”
A countercultural icon and legendary American abstract painter, the 84-year-old Heilmann is among the most influential artists of her generation, emerging out of minimalism and the Beat Generation in California, with shows at the likes of Hauser & Wirth and the New Museum. Matt Creed’s documentary “Waves, Roads, & Hallucinations” premiered at the Hamptons Film Festival and now heads for streaming platforms including AppleTV and Amazon via Tribeca Films on July 30. Watch the trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.
Per the official synopsis, “Director Matt Creed offers an intimate and vivid experience that follows Heilmann for seven years in her natural environments, from her studios in Bridgehampton and Tribeca to her installation at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in Berlin. Incorporating rare archival material, found footage, and original in-studio moments of Heilmann at work, the film creates an immersive odyssey into the mind and work of a legendary living artist.”
“The idea way back when I got started [was] you never thought about selling art. And now, with the new art world, a new art culture in the world, you’re producing a marketable commodity. Which is something we were just grossed out by,” Heilmann says in the trailer. Her first successes date back to the late 1960s in the Bay Area after graduating from the University of California Berkeley, and at a fractious time for the university and the country.
Tom McCarthy, director of the Oscar-winning “Spotlight,” counts among the executive producers. “Waves, Roads, & Hallucinations” is produced by Jacqueline Sischy, Hayley Matus, and Brandon Creed. Executive producers include theater icon Jon Mantello, artist Derek Fordjour, Alex Georgiou, and Eli Ping as well.
Heilmann currently has new work on display at Dia Beacon, located near the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon, New York.
