LOOK INTO MY OWL

The recent work of the artistic pair known as Lutz & Guggisberg is now on display at the Monica De Cardenas Gallery in Zuoz, Switzerland.

Lutz & Guggisberg, Tipi Dream, mixed media on canvas, 43 x 47″, 2010.

Andres Lutz and Anders Guggisberg have been delighting us as a pair for more than a decade. They draw on a tremendous variety of sources for their inspiration. The delicious blend of art history, humor and ecological concerns inform the content with a rich subjective mythology.

Lutz & Guggisberg, Slug Traffic, oil on canvas, 43 x 47″, 2010.

Consider, for a moment, the challenges of collaborating on a visual level. Without even consulting “the other,” creative roadblocks are already being built. So it is a rare case when two talented individuals can put aside petty jealousy and even shame to risk a venture for our benefit. For their share, the duo take away new understandings of how art develops singly and evolves over time. The third mind that takes responsibility for these pieces is unlike anyone you will ever meet.

Lutz & Guggisberg, Aximal, oil on canvas, 43 x 47″, 2010.

Lutz & Guggisberg
12 February – 2 April 2011
Monica De Cardenas Gallery
Zuoz, Switzerland

“Remarks on Colour” is Julião Sarmento’s first solo exhibition with Pilar Corrias in London. The work is on display now and runs through March 19th. Sarmento has studied both painting and architecture and for nearly four decades he has been exploring points where the two disciplines collide.

Julião Sarmento, Silver Lake Yellow Boob, polyvinyl acetate, pigments, acrylic, acrylic gesso, ink, graphite and silkscreen print on unprimed cotton canvas, 2010-11.

The title of this show is a direct reference to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s fractured reaction to Goethe’s statements concerning the origin of color itself. The canvasses are mostly white with occasional shocks of screen printed primary color. The color reacts with the white surface to initiate the perception of a spectrum beginning with the primary and fading away into the plane.

Julião Sarmento, Silver Lake Blue Hands, polyvinyl acetate, pigments, acrylic, acrylic gesso, ink, graphite and silkscreen print on unprimed cotton canvas, 2010-11.

The architectural leanings of the artist are evident in compositions that mimic the modernist structures depicted in the printed areas. Suggestions of living tissue, both human and plant often remark on direct sensitivities of the viewer. Sarmento calls on our susceptibilities to nature through the revealing of delicate areas and shared nervous sensation.

Julião Sarmento, White Exit, mixed media installation, 2010-11.

Julião Sarmento
Remarks on Colour
15 February – 19 March 2011
Pilar Corrias
London

“Paint Objects,” the first solo show in Los Angeles from Margie Livingston is on now and runs through the end of February at Luis De Jesus.

Margie Livingston, Small Folded Painting in Yellow, Green, and Neutral Red, acrylic, 2010.

Over the past three years, Margie Livingston has been experimenting with paint in a radically different manner from her earlier work. She has removed the surface of the painting in an effort to concentrate on the sculptural qualities of drying paint.

Margie Livingston, 146 Fluid Black and White Layers in a Grid, acrylic, 2010.

These groundless paintings are often accomplished by pouring several gallons of acrylic paint on the studio floor and allowing the sheets to dry to a pliable new material. The sheets are rolled, cut and otherwise contorted into a variety of shapes that rely on precision to complete the forms with chance often factoring the juxtaposition of color.

Most painters maintain a waste area for unused paint, often in the shape of colorful mounds. These long term, arbitrary asides are rarely exhibited. Livingston counts on mistakes as a central theme driving the experimental nature of these new sculptures. The finished pieces exhibit a polish that solidifies their physical presence outside of the experimentation of the studio. Leaving the canvas behind is a big step, it should be interesting to see where this reckless behavior leads.

Margie Livingston, Study for Spiral Block #5, acrylic, 2010.

Margie Livingston
Paint Objects
22 January – 27 February 2011
Luis De Jesus Los Angeles