ONETWENTYEIGHT
presents
MAXWELL STEVENS
“SPRING ESSENCE” NEW PAINTINGS
November 1 – December 3, 2017
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 4, 6 - 8 pm
Spring Essence, 2017
Oil on canvas
72 x 72 in / 183 x 183 cm
NEW YORK - ONETWENTYEIGHT is excited to present "SPRING ESSENCE" NEW PAINTINGS, a new suite of oil paintings on canvas and unique, hand-carved mahogany ovals by New York based artist Maxwell Stevens. The exhibition will be on view from November 1 through December 3, 2017, with an opening reception to be held on Saturday, November 4th, from 6- 8pm.
Seeking in painterly terms what some theologians refer to as “thin places” or “thin spaces”, and taking the position that these divine places are more psychologically than geographically defined, the artist has turned towards private scenes in his own home during Easter weekend as his point of departure.
Thin Space / Spring Essence, 2017
Oil on canvas
23 x 23 in / 58.5 x 58.5 cm
Superimposed with a splashy and colorfully vivid palette of scarlet, fuchsia and rose complimented by minty greens, the visually tactile abstractions display an increase in clarity and fluidity, blending areas between abstraction and figure, with lightly scraped passages shifting in and out of focus. Slight progressions in time are indicated by a clock on the wall and the shifting emotional tenor of the conversation, and these changes are further mirrored by watery abstractions that fluctuate and spill across each scene in a progressive manner.
Spring Essence 2, 2017
Oil on canvas
23 x 23 in / 58.5 x 58.5 cm
Deepening his commitment to his multi-layered approach and to the materiality of his works, canvases have been glazed dozens of times to achieve a mirror finish, while retaining a painterly approach to rendering each delicate scene with thousands of tiny brushstrokes blended together to fuse each picture. Curvilinear gestures slide across the glassy images, culminating in vibrant, floral abstractions that seem to hover and blossom above each miniaturized scene, inviting the viewer’s gaze from both near and afar as they become both voyeur and participant in the artist’s search for a thin place through his art.
Reflecting, 2017
Oil on Mahogany
76.25 x 44.25 in / 194 x 112 cm
Accompanying the Spring Essence suite are oval panel paintings cut from heavy slabs of mahogany, their beveled edges gently curving to meet the wall, while fragments of earlier deconstructed paintings are collaged onto raw linen, standing in stark contrast to the freshly painted abstractions, creating a historical subtext within the overall presentation, allowing past and present to coalesce together.
Sewing, 2017 (Gallery View)
Oil on Mahogany
21 x 13.25 in / 53 x 33.5 cm
Maxwell Stevens was born in Charleston, South Carolina (USA) in 1971. He received an MFA in Painting from the School of Art at Washington University in Saint Louis in 1995, and a BFA in Painting from The Atlanta College of Art in 1993. His paintings and drawings have been exhibited extensively and internationally in contemporary venues from Tokyo to Dallas to New York. His paintings & projects have been featured in several publications including The Museum of Modern Art Monthly Bulletin, New York, NY, NYArts Magazine, Fine Arts Connoisseur, Art Papers, and Art in America.
MAXWELL STEVENS “SPRING ESSENCE” NEW PAINTINGS is on view from November 1 through December 3, 2017.
For further information please contact the gallery at springessencepaintings@gmail.com,
+1.646.341.0175, +1.212.674.0244.
ONETWENTYEIGHT is located at 128 Rivington Street ( between Essex Street & Norfolk Street ) on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 12pm to 7pm, and by appointment.
onetwentyeight
128 Rivington Street, New York, NY 10002
galleryonetwentyeight.org +1.212.674.0244
