17 April 2008

re-title.com newsletter - Painting & Drawing April 2008

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Galerie Voss Düsseldorf Galerie Christian Lethert Cologne Wyer Gallery London Margaret Thatcher Projects New York Freight + Volume New York The Proposition New York fruehsorge contemporary drawings Berlin Next Newsletters         sign up!

Galerie Voss Düsseldorf Justin Richel: Rise and Fall 4 Apr - 3 May 2008 The solo exhibition will show works from the "Big Wigs" and "Sweets" series. The overarching theme of Richel's work is concerned with early American history, but much like their predecessors, these are history paintings infused with a highly contemporary message. Their details emerge to illustrate not only an alternative vision of the founding of a country, but to provide a biting commentary on the state of the nation today. Richel's 'Big Wigs' series forgoes the portrayal of known figures, but makes extensive use of the stylistic qualities of historical portraiture. Although we don't recognise these men individually, their significance is easily communicated to us through the formal choices of the painter: the crisp uniform, the self-important posture, the carved wood or sculpted gold 'frame'. And of course, the wigs. Though the practice survives only in the form of a term-a person in a position of power is sometimes called a 'big wig'-wigs were once an expression of social and political status in America. This indicator of power is mocked, and thus deconstructed, in these satirical paintings. We see these men and their wigs invaded by birds or bird droppings, sculpted in the form of an owl, entwined with flowers that seem to grow directly out of them, or dangerously enflamed. Whatever malady threatens their wigs, these gentlemen never break pose, their serious faces focused only on creating an image of their own importance, completely unconcerned with the potential dangers swirling around their heads. Though the portraits seem primarily to poke fun at the figures-heightened by the slightly cartoon-ish style in which they are painted-they also force us to question the reverence with which we portray important people, often at the expense of considering the real person behind the projected image. And although we view these with humour, there is a degree of menace in the thought that these men wilfully ignore all that is happening around them, concerned only with the construction of their own image and perhaps, their place in history. At first glance the 'Sweets' paintings seem to be a wholly independent series, unrelated to the historical and political commentary of Richel's other works. A tornado with swirling doughnuts, a tsunami of gumdrops and frosting, a globe of assorted pastries, cornices and chandeliers constructed of perfectly formed candies, every kind of cake and cookie clamouring over each other to make it to the top of an enormous pile that dwarfs the little picnic table underneath: these are joyful works, childish in their exuberance and in love of all things yummy. But as we begin to give in to our temptations, contemplating where to dive in to the amazing choice of bright colours and gooey goodness on offer, somehow the adult creeps in. The realisation of the massive stomach-ache that would follow such a feast incites caution. The child-self that seeks immediate gratification to satisfy its craving battles with the adult- self, who knows that sometimes too much of a good thing is not a good thing at all. That indulging our every temporary craving is not always representative of our best interests in the long term. The term 'conspicuous consumption' comes to mind, and we are brought forcefully out of our confectionary child-dream, back to the hard reality of a society where success is measured largely by one's relative ability to consume. In the artist's words "A flawed yet functional infrastructure. A conglomerate society of multi- coloured temptations, vying for the same hierarchical position at the top of the heap." The images are suddenly viewed as just as political, and just as much an illustration of American history past and present, as the Big Wigs. The success of Justin Richel's work is that it comes as a complete package, and yet in no way does he present his subjects as closed. His images are captivating from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, but also contain much to ponder in terms of content. Each piece stands strongly on its own, but forms part of a rich dialogue, constructed in a visual language that gives a firm nod to its art historical predecessors, but remains the artist's unique creation. Perhaps most importantly, whilst some very specific ideas can be culled from this language, Richel is careful to leave a generous depth of space for the viewer to explore and develop their own interpretations of the work, resulting in paintings that can be viewed again and again, always offering some fresh new insight. The ability to successfully tackle politically charged subject matter requires a certain balance on the part of the artist: the work must be accessible to the viewer, yet retain its complexity; it must communicate its message, but allow space for multiple viewpoints. To tread too softly with the work risks that the message will not be easily heard. To push too hard risks that it becomes didactic, dictating rather than encouraging dialogue. Richel gracefully manages this particular balancing act, and with rare consistency in an artist so prolific. Image: Justin Richel He Sits Below The Salt Gouache auf Papier 2007 35 x 40 cm Courtesy of Galerie Voss, Düsseldorf Galerie Voss Mühlengasse 3 D-40213 Düsseldorf Galerie Voss Read On...Galerie Voss, Düsseldorf

Galerie Christian Lethert Cologne Daniel Lergon nimbi 16 Apr - 25 May 2008 We are pleased to announce the second solo exhibition of Daniel Lergon (born 1978, living in Berlin) in our gallery. The exhibition is titled "nimbi", which the Latin plural of nimbus. The exhibition continues the artists pictorial examination of the interaction between light and surface. In a part of the exhibition the artist uses the special qualities of a technical texture as painting matter to produce pictorial light appearances, who under appropriate conditions beside others also create the impression of nimbus-like light coronas. The emanations of this matter are of profane nature, they merge with the irrational visual worlds of painting. In contrast to those there are works on dark textile matter. Painting on different image carriers here is understood as a dialogue between single elements of shape, in both cases supported by the possible light appearances. Thereby imaginative associations are opposed to physical and technical categories. The exhibition is divided in two rooms with three pictures in each, which differ in size, but always are of quadratic shape. They are ordered in a strict rhythm of a big (250x250 cm), a medium (200x200 cm) and a small (100x100 cm) dimension. The pictures in the first room are painted on retroreflective material. It has the quality to reflect light always back to where it came from, other than mirroring surfaces. The viewer, who has got a light source in his back, can see his own shadow on the texture. Around his heads shadow a more or less shining light corona, similar to a nimbus, gets visible. This phenomenon also can be found in nature, for example on grassland covered by dew, when the sun is shining on it at the same time. This phenomenon is also called "the heiligenschein" in English language. The texture is painted with clear coat and produces prismatic colour effects at certain areas and fortifies or reduces the process of retroreflection and so also of the nimbus. Because to the light appearances also belong those of shadow and darkness, there are presented contrasting works on umbra brown textile in the back room. This texture is painted with clear coat, just like the retroreflective pictures. While in the front room, depending on point of view, the viewer either is surrounded by brightness or by greyness, here he thematically is confronted with impressions of gradual, coloured darkness and subtle shadows. Here are also produced reflecting surfaces, but in contrast to the retroreflecting paintings they are mirroring. Here the effect of a heiligenschein is not existent. Image: Daniel Lergon Untitled. 2007 Lacquer on retroreflective canvas 200 x 200 cm Courtesy of Galerie Christian Lethert, Cologne Galerie Christian Lethert Antwerpener Straße 4 D-50672 Cologne Galerie Christian Lethert Read On...Galerie Christian Lethert, Cologne

Wyer Gallery London Insight Out Guillermo Martin Bermejo Anja Ganster Genevieve Morin Monika Ruckstuhl 25 Apr - 25 May 2008 Insight Out, curated by Anja Ganster, is a group show of paintings by four artists that deal with an idea of place or space reflecting reality through some kind of representation. The exhibition questions how, and in which ways, internal processes and worlds can be represented through the language of the image and through the language of a medium and what the work can say beyond the image depicted. Monika Ruckstuhl [b.1965 Switzerland] lives and works in Basel. Her small-scale landscapes and fading interior scenes portray a calm emptiness of space that keeps the viewer at a slight distance, whilst creating a sense of longing or nostalgia. Her work is loose and abstract, with neither her interiors nor landscapes seeming to follow any logic of form: some works fade away, others build up structures of rocks and snow, all the time using light to blur the boundaries of outward appearance. Ruckstuhl is a graduate of the Art Academie Basel, HGK Basel and the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste. Her last solo show was at Galerie Karin Sutter, Basel in 2007. More recently she was represented at the 2008 red bull hangar, Salzburg. Anja Ganster [b.1968 Germany] lives and works in Basel and Wiesbaden. In the empty but light inhabited spaces in her paintings the viewer has the possibility of seeing a mirror of his or her own internal world. They work on the edge between representation of the image depicted and the abstraction of the painterly language. She deals with artificial, man created and man used spaces and questions everyday reality by investigating momentary sensations, working with layers of light, shadow and colours to create an atmospheric, loaded image. Anja Ganster trained at the Akademie für Bildende Kunst, Mainz and the Slade, London. Her most recent solo exhibition was with CP Galerie Wiesbaden in 2007. She was the 2006 Artist in Residence, Kulturhaus "Zum kleinen Markgräfler Hof", Basel and her work is in collections nationally and internationally, including the Museum Frieder Burda. Genevieve Morin [b.1963 Canada] lives and works in Basel. In her emotional landscapes full of creatures and otherwordly figures, fantasies and strange relationships which irritate the viewer, it is unclear as to whether the viewer is witness to an interior or exterior world, whether what he sees belong to a world 'before or behind the retina' [Katrin Dunst, Basel']. Morin trained at the Université du Québec à Montréal and the College d'enseignement général du Vieux- Montréal. Her most recent solo exhibition was in 2008 at Gallerie Karin Sutter, Basel. She was a recipient of the Award Werkbeitrag, Kunstkredit Basel-Stadt, in 2006. Guillermo Martin Bermejo [b.1971 Spain] lives and works in Madrid. In his drawings the piece of paper seems to represent the personal space or some place in life where his dreamlike sceneries have just happened. Disarmingly naïve and free of context they seem, at the same time, charged with a multitude of possible narrative meaning. Bermejos' most recent solo exhibitions were at Travesía Cuatro, Madrid and "Lost Boys in New York", Nueva York, Intervención, both in 2007. His work is in numerous collections both in Spain and further afield, including the Biblioteca Francisco Javier Martín Abril, Valladolid, Spain and the international collection of the Spanish Embassy. Insight Out is kindly supported by Erziehungsdepartement Basel-Stadt and Kulturelles Baselland Image: Genevieve Morin Sous les Abres 2005 oil on canvas 200 x 135 cm Courtesy of Wyer Gallery, London Wyer Gallery 191 St. John's Hill London SW11 1TH Wyer Gallery Read On...Wyer Gallery, London

Margaret Thatcher Projects New York Carlos Estrada-Vega Compositions & Drawings 10 Apr - 17 May 2008 Margaret Thatcher Projects is pleased to present Compositions + Drawings, an exhibition of new works by Carlos Estrada-Vega. Estrada-Vega's sculptural paintings incorporate a variety of media and a unique process of assemblage. Small canvas-covered blocks, each magnetized to hold its place within the larger composition, are painted highly saturated colors, the palette inspired by the artist's Mexican heritage. Seemingly monochromatic arrangements are revealed on closer inspection to be a dazzling array of distinct hues, an effect that is enhanced by the varying lengths of the projecting blocks. The luscious texture of each cube effuses a tactile temptation that is difficult to resist. Estrada-Vega furthers this tension between touch and restraint by magnetizing the individual pieces and creating the potential for movement. Each rectangle and square is considered to be a distinct monochrome painting, the overall composition of multiple individual blocks conceptually and visually equaling greater than the sum of its parts. Carlos Estrada-Vega's paintings are in the collections of the Museum Katharinenhof, Kranenburg, Germany, the Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, and The Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA, as well as numerous private collections. Estrada-Vega exhibits actively internationally, and is represented by galleries in Germany, Switzerland, and Australia. This is the artist's third solo exhibition at the gallery. Image: Carlos Estrada-Vega Installation at Margaret Thatcher Projects New York, April 2008 Courtesy of Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York Margaret Thatcher Projects 511 W 25 St New York, NY 10001 Margaret Thatcher Projects Read On...Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York

Freight + Volume New York KIM DORLAND North 5 Apr - 10 May 2008 For his New York debut, Canadian artist Kim Dorland will present several new large-scale paintings, which explore the motif of figure and setting. His heavily impastoed works greet the viewer like vibrant, playful and often eerie snapshots of suburban scenarios, quiet woodland scenes and gory abstract portraits. Dorland's exaggerated palette is partnered with coarse, fervent brushwork and unorthodox paint applications - acrylic, oil and spraypaint all have a home within his compositions. Thick, generously- applied pigment sits abundantly upon wood surfaces, muscular markmaking describes foliage and terrain while fluorescent underpainting isolates reduced human forms and breaks up the earthy homogony. Dorland confidently employs these unexpected devices to generate arrangements that combine beauty with vulgarity, to depict that which is familiar. In his most recent body of work, North, Dorland turns his focus to Alberta's rural and suburban landscapes, appropriating not only its imagery, but also the colloquial textures and palette associated with it. By connecting to his place and time, Dorland challenges the notion of regional painting, and supercharges the connotations associated with "Sunday painting" as they pertain to the seriousness of a work of art. The works are a synthesis of cultural influence, reflecting a personal rebellion to prescribed ways of picturemaking despite a continued fascination with its tradition. In his selection, unexpected mediums challenge the vocabulary with which a painting is generally assessed. This new series strives to register a fresh visual culture where developments come about not just from contemporary practices, but also from preceding tradition. The constructs and concerns asserted by Dorland may evoke or resemble those of current artists like Rackstraw Downes and Peter Doig, as well as yesteryear heroes of romance like Thomas Cole and perhaps Edward Hopper, in their close observations of the banal and peripheral. In Northern Lights #2, a focal point of the exhibition, Dorland's dramatic sweep of day-glo paint creates an apocalyptic-looking aurora borealis, which illuminates a solitary figure within a dichotomous sublime and unsettling tableau. Blue Hoodie and Lake Louise are emotionally poignant portraits of Dorland's wife and muse: the chaotic treatment of brushstrokes and gooey build-up of paint capture the amusing, multileveled dynamic between husband and wife. In the sinister painting Passed Out, Dorland revisits themes of teenage angst, and offers a window into suburban rituals of youth. Throughout the entire show, we see evidence of Dorland's great insight and sensitivity toward his native habitat. Kim Dorland received his BFA from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver and his MFA at York University in Toronto. He has had solo exhibitions at Angell Gallery, Toronto; Bonelli Arte Contemporanea, Mantova, Italy; Bonelli Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA; Kasia Kay Art Projects, Chicago, IL; and Skew Gallery, Calgary, Alberta - and has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards. This will be his first exhibition with Freight + Volume. Image: Kim Dorland Wu-Tang, 2008 Oil and acrylic on wood 35 1/2 x 48 in / 90.2 x 121.9 cm Courtesy of Freight + Volume Freight + Volume 542 West 24th St. New York, NY 10011 Freight + Volume Read On...Freight + Volume, New York

The Proposition New York Jason Gringler Various states of undress, construction and repair 19 Apr - 21 May 2008 The Proposition gallery proudly presents, "Various states of undress, construction and repair," Jason Gringler's solo premiere New York City exhibition opening Saturday, April 19th and on display until May 21st. The gallery is very pleased to have Gringler as a new addition to the roster and has previously shown his work in the group exhibition "Gothic Intrusion," as well as "The Unnameable", a collaborative show with Martin Kuchar, both in March 2008. Leaving Toronto for New York, Gringler has aggressively appropriated the industrially manufactured materials that reflect the gritty surroundings of his new neighborhood in Brooklyn for this series of paintings that comprise "Various states of undress, construction and repair". Previously, Gringler's work consisted of a vastly varied palette of vibrant colors and muted tones amongst softer lines and fluidly curvilinear shapes. His earlier paintings were much smaller in scale, mostly asymmetrical and featured a lustrous resin finish. While Gringler continues to strongly favor the urban backdrop of gray, silver and black with this new series of paintings, his controlled flourishes of color now have a more strategic sense in their placement and are also very instrumental in creating a sharper contrast throughout each piece. At first glance, Gringler's new paintings look very geometrical in design and architecturally structured with many hard right angles and crisp straight lines that fracture at and point toward the vertical axis. Each piece is created with two identically sized adjoining panels that connect at the center; however, the seemingly symmetrical halves never quite mirror one another. Instead, most of the shapes are slightly offset from being perfectly placed opposite their logical counterpart, in effect, leading the eye all across the surface with the hope of finding a balance, yet remaining unsuccessful due to the unending gravitational pull around the frame. The very fact that the works are oriented on a diamond-esque (forty-five degree) tilt rather than parallel to the ground draws attention to the sharpness of the corners and more than likely contributes to the near vertigo inducing movement already originating within the dynamic multidirectional arrangement in each composition. Gringler constructs these paintings in a manner so that the transparency of the Plexiglas surface exposes the underlying structure of the wooden support frame, not to mention the surface behind it. Upon this, he layers spray paint and amorphous splashes of acrylic paint with angular strips of acrylic sheets, mirror and Plexiglas. The final element is the environment. As each piece is hung and situated in a space, its partially mirrored surface reflects the architecture of the very environment that the painting inhabits, making it an essential and inevitable component to the piece itself. Addressing the process behind "Various states of undress, construction and repair," Gringler offers, "Each work acts much like the pages of a sketchbook. I build ideas one on top of the next, from painting to painting, reiterating the importance of construction in my studio practice. The structures change slowly, as if each work is one step closer to a complete, and culturally reflective, language." Image: Jason Gringler Various States of Undress, Construction and Repair (quiet version) 2008 Acrylic, tape, spray paint and mirror on Plexiglas 93.5 x 93.5 in Courtesy of The Proposition, New York The Proposition New York The Proposition Read On...The Proposition, New York

fruehsorge contemporary drawings Berlin Laura Bruce THE HUNT 5 Apr - 10 May 2008 Human beings have always tried to gain power over nature. What used to be a pure fight for existence nowadays lives on as a classy tradition in the fashion of hunting. The trophies on the walls of our own homes are an emblazoning insignia to verify this ostensible predominance. But is it really possible to overwhelm nature? This is the question that Laura Bruce asks in her work. In her oeuvre she reflects on ambivalent relationship between human beings and nature. Through nurturing and nursing, through trimming and culling, nature is brought into a decorative form- domesticated, cultivated. But the influence of nature is always visible in Laura Bruce's works. Tremendous trees jut out behind the garden paradises, winding themselves with their imposing shadows around the occupied territories of men. Dogs streak like wolves through the countryside while a man swims calmly; sure of his power over this creature. The observer starts to doubt: does this scene show a harmonic symbiosis or a fight for power? Also in Laura Bruce's style of drawing, this contrary relationship can be found. Very delicately, she plays with contrasts, with light and shadow, whose objects are elusive. Like this, she effects a switch in the viewer's sense of expectation. These scenes seem to be harmonic, ordinary, familiar; only an intensive reflection opens the view to a more complex level. But the image might contain underlying messages. Like a picture puzzle, the empty landscape changes into a lively spectacle. A tree turns into a blazing fire; a man appears in the shrubbery. Nature reveals its majestic, sublime, energetic but also threatening traits and lets the people step into the background. The attention of the viewer is caught by contrasts between powerful, fidgety pencil strokes and subtle, almost vanishing lines. Like this she entices the recipient to an intensive analysis of the physical and the metaphysical, and brings nature back to the human universe. She inaugurates a new horizon of consciousness for a versatile reality, in which the limits between good and bad blur. Beauty and horror oscilate. Consequently, this hunt ends successfully. Image: Laura Bruce The Wait, 2008 113 x 155 cm Graphit auf Papier Courtesy of fruehsorge contemporary drawings Berlin fruehsorge contemporary drawings Heidestrasse 46-52 D-10557 Berlin fruehsorge contemporary drawings Read On...fruehsorge contemporary drawings, Berlin

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