LOOK INTO MY OWL

“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

“Next Year in Jerusalem,” at Gagosian Gallery in NYC is a solo exhibition of entirely new work from Anselm Kiefer.

Anselm Kiefer, Flying Fortress, airplane engine, steel, photographs, lead and oil, emulsion, acrylic, shellac on clay on canvas in inscribed glass and steel vitrine, 2010.

The mixed media show inhabits the walls and floors of the gallery filling the space much like a natural history museum display. The glass vitrines contain precious artifacts that appeal to a sense of external discovery and internal moments.

Anselm Kiefer, San Loreto, oil, emulsion, acrylic and shellac on canvas, 2009-2010.

Anselm Kiefer is known to work on a larger than human scale and this series of new work is in line with his history. The near monumental size has on occasion been mistaken as a crutch that artists rely on to overwhelm the viewer but it is important to remember that weakness can also be magnified at this scale. The foundation of these compositions and the structure of these thoughts are sound.

Anselm Kiefer, Winterwald, oil, emulsion, acrylic, shellac, ash, torn bushes, synthetic teeth and snakeskin on canvas in glass and steel frames, 2010.

Kiefer has completed an amazing body of work throughout his career. The tremendous quality of his previous efforts often make it difficult to imagine pleasing new directions and yet it is exactly this that we should expect. He remains a cunning manipulator of material and a master of entangling history and dream to engage more than his generation.

Anselm Kiefer, Ararat, oil, emulsion, acrylic, shellac, ash, torn bushes, synthetic teeth and snakeskin on canvas in glass and steel frames, 2010.

Anselm Kiefer
Next Year in Jerusalem
6 November – 18 December 2010
Gagosian Gallery
NYC

Recently, we stopped in on Aaron Johnson’s new studio space in Bushwick. We were there so that he could sign the new print edition, available here, through our gallery.

It was great to see how much painting was going on in the studio. Aaron was preparing for a solo show, “Scars and Stripes” opening this Friday at Gallery Poulsen in Copenhagen, Denmark and let us take some photographs of the work in progress. He’s been instituting exciting new techniques that have brought the concentration of textural detail to new levels.

Johnson continues to explore a vibrant mythology that is a mash-up of history, biology and individual investigation. His compositions seem to grow in an organic manner with division and replication playing large roles in the layers of color that build into surface. Two depictions of God were nearing completion in the space. These pieces were clear indications that although the works explode before the viewer’s eyes they still manage to keep sight of a larger ideal.

More photos after the break.
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Today, the Whitney Museum of American Art has thrown the doors open on “Diver” a retrospective exhibition highlighting the wide scope of work generated by artist Paul Thek in his short lifetime. Yesterday, the museum let us in to preview the work on display and we have some photos to share.

The retrospect is thoughtfully curated. Each room folds out another aspect, time period and location change from the career of the artist. It’s a sensation that is felt by the viewer as avenues that appear as growth from change rather than linear progress. To experience the work contained in “Diver” as it is laid out is to get a surreal sense of the life of Paul Thek.

The last room of the exhibit contains work produced shortly before Thek submitted to complications from AIDS. The paintings are hung very low in this room. The audience is forced to bow or kneel to engage the work closely. Thek’s sentiments, knowing he was going to die, unearth a beauty of spirit and directness that reorganize his life’s effort into new clarity.

Paul Thek was a man that knew the history of his trade well, this is evident from getting to know his work. Another thing that jumps out is that he became, himself, an influence to countless artists. It is the first major examination of his work in the United States. If time and space are against you and you can’t get to New York, pick up the 304 page catalogue, here.

More photos after the break.
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This past weekend, Ron English opened the bar to a few hundred of his closest friends at his temporary space, “Status Factory” in NYC. The swanky 5,000 square foot space in SoHo is filled with two and three dimensional works illustrating Ron’s personal “Popaganda.” The show runs through the end of October, so if you have the time, stop in and get overwhelmed.

Be sure to click through for many more photographs.

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Re:Form School, “a high profile group art exhibition, event series and public awareness campaign… that brings together the creative community in a call for the reform of the American Public Education System.” opens today and runs through Monday at 233 Mott Street in NYC.

Last night, we attended a special preview of the exhibit and took these photographs before the crowd arrived. It’s a sprawling, three floor group show in an old school house involving more than 150 artists. It’s for a great cause so get to SoHo before it’s gone.

Once the doors opened to the artists and media, it didn’t take long for the school to fill up. If you plan on attending this weekend, it might be a good idea to arrive early and expect to wait in line.

Be sure to click through for many more photographs.

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