PRESS RELEASE
An exhibition of works on paper by the artists Frank Badur, Jaq Belcher, Libby Black, Adam Fowler, Rainer Gross,Tad Mike, Howardena Pindell, Barbara Takenaga, Winston Roeth and Nan Swid. Cuts that appear drawn (Jaq Belcher); drawings that are cut (Adam Fowler); and three-dimensional still-lifes delicately constructed out of paper, hot glue and paint (Libby Black), are just a few examples of how these artists blur techniques and ultimately highlight paper as a medium that is malleable, versatile and yielding.
Jaq Belcher and Adam Fowler start with the same tools: a sheet of bright white paper and pencil. They continue with an X-ACTO knife and countless blades, but their similarities end there. Adam Fowler’s cuts remove the negative space from his drawings of swirling lines for a result that approaches the realm of sculpture and immediately draws you in to take a closer look. Jaq Belcher’s drawings are formed by strategic cuts and folds, often numbering in the tens of thousands. Her large geometric and dynamic compositions make a game out of angles of light and shadow that hit her composition and ultimately carve out intricate patterns that reference a natural phenomena in shape and form.
This rhythmic hum is continued in the visual abstractions of the artists Barbara Takenaga, Frank Badur, Winston Roeth andTad Mike. Barbara Takenaga‘s meticulous paintings invite the viewer to explore an asymmetric ordering of the universe. Her horizons radiate with energy and recall constellations and galaxies in constant shift. Both Winston Roeth and Frank Badur present abstractions of the grid, packed with subtle deviations that vibrate towards the viewer. Tad Mike’s lyrical abstractions document the artist’s sensitivity to nature. Working en plein air, Mike creates his own inks and watercolors and uses organic materials such as the stem of a leaf, flowers or a blade of glass as his brush to give life to his harmonic, lyrical and intuitive drawings.
Rainer Gross’s Logo series abstracts symbols of our contemporary, globalized landscape, sharply cropping them and treating them as the worshipped icons of our society. His surfaces are cracked, cakey and crisp, formed in a controlled and spontaneous manner honed through his Contact paintings.