Installation view, A LAND Exhibition: Painting in Place, 2013. Farmers and Merchants Bank, Downtown Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Robert Wedemeyer.

There is an array of reads into LAND’s gesture with this exhibition. As I write, the Swiss bank funded behemoth known as Art Basel has begun its annual tradition. Writers and artists alike share chilling examples of stock-market like charts for artists, where the works of Richter, Warhol, et al, are used like currency, secured in vaults, and examined by…top men. The phenomenon of these fears may be at the heart of LAND’s situating of artists who are united by the language of modern abstraction within the bank’s Neoclassical walls. There may or may not be a position here; it could also be read as a ‘capital-O’ Occupation of the bank by the more benevolent forces of art (we’ll have to decorate the inside of them with something in a post-capital world).

Julian Hoeber | Execution Changes #72A (DS, Q1, LRJ, DC, Q2, ULJ, DC) installation view), 2013, acrylic on linen over panel with string.  Photo by Jason Ramos.

Sara Cain | Runaway (view during opening reception), 2013, acrylic, vinyl and string on window and wall.  Photo by Jason Ramos.

Olga Koumoundouros | Possession; version 3 (detail), 2013, acrylic on vinyl with mixed media.  Photo by Jason Ramos.

The only real clues we have are the works. Painting in this exhibition is treated more as a set of issues (that often overlaps with other sets of issues), than it is as a testable category or product type. The resultant strategies of the artists in the exhibition range from the obvious and forced to the smart and spectacular. What is left behind by the artists feels at its best like the frenzied remains of a painter-led takeover of one the temples of finance. Any fizzle of Painting In Place is when the desire to see some specific works in a more clinical space creeps up on you – ostensibly because much contemporary painting is done with the clean white space of the gallery in mind and then presented as discreet objects. The influence of that context is at conceptual odds with the precepts of the modern notion of site-specificity, and some of the conventions of that context are applied to the design of this exhibition. However, the works in the show that demonstrate this the most are doing so by virtue of their strengths as individual paintings. Repeated viewings and conceptualizing of the exhibition space as a whole, where multiple works foreground each other and the “backsides” of some of the works are revealed, are where many of the shows strengths are highlighted.

Installation view, A LAND Exhibition: Painting in Place, 2013. Farmers and Merchants Bank, Downtown Los Angeles.  Foreground piece by Mark Hagen.  Photo by Jason Ramos.

Installation view, A LAND Exhibition: Painting in Place, 2013. Farmers and Merchants Bank, Downtown Los Angeles.  Foreground piece by Monique van Genderen.  Photo by Jason Ramos.

Alexandra Grant | Model Self (2), 2012, Model Self (5), 2012, Model Self (6), 2013, (installation views), mixed media.  Photo by Jason Ramos.

Installation view,  A LAND Exhibition: Painting in Place, 2013. Farmers and Merchants Bank, Downtown Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Robert Wedemeyer.

The physical site is comprised of two main viewing areas. The main grand hall has the dimensions of a gymnasium, the entryway area featuring two Kim Fisher works. One is literally hung behind bars in an area where presumably the former bank’s safe deposit and storage vaults were. Once across the threshold, two Julian Hoeber paintings free-hang high overhead. Islands of freestanding sculptural works comfortably fill the space, while alterations to the decoratively columned interior have been carried out by artists Sara Cain and Olga Koumoundouros. Three chroma-key green canvases by Amanda Ross-Ho surround the perimeter of the space in the seemingly inaccessible overhead balcony area. A hallway with more work connects to a second area, a rawer space that seems mid-remodel. There is a more satisfying presentation of individual works in this space – it does not have the unified aesthetic force of the main hall, and thus has less to add to the context of the work’s presentation, at least visually. Some of the interior décor that is left is of the Neoclassical style of the main hall, giving the space something of the quality of ancient ruins. Many contemporary artists’ first public works are often in spaces in a state of modern ruin, and much of art history has occurred in repurposed, raw, spaces. The single most responsive piece in this part of the exhibition is by Matias Faldbakken. His frequent theme of half-finished looking applications of ceramic tile grids both integrates with the space and creates an illusion. Faldbakken is an artist well versed in the physical integration of his production and its place of presentation, among a few others in the exhibition. Other artists with work in this part of the site, like Britton Tolliver and Allison Miller, command individual viewing by their own strengths, and seem almost designed to hold their own amongst whatever distractions an as-is exhibition space may have. Back in the main hall, Monique van Genderen‘s gold bricks made of gold leaf on linen (the pricier alternative to canvas) offer the most in terms of specific responsiveness to the site, self-conscious channeling of previous conceptual gestures, and directly commenting on a Kaz Oshiro-y material essentialism of what technically constitutes paintings as objects when the object is made of paintings as opposed to being a painting. Alexandra Grant‘s hanging pieces and neon installation feel like natural expansions of her painting practice, and Amanda Ross-Ho’s green screen paintings seem to refer to something profound in their absence of imagery – the absence of imagery. There is a tiny bit of it in the exhibition, but as Ross-Ho is pointing out, the abstract painting surface is still a site of illusion, completed perhaps in the post-production of the viewers looking. Any more straight-forward representational imagery could perhaps skew the exhibition’s concept into an even more editorial position, when presenting work by gallery artists inside a former Neoclassical bank within the context of site-specificity is arguably charged enough.

Installation view, A LAND Exhibition: Painting in Place, 2013. Farmers and Merchants Bank, Downtown Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Robert Wedemeyer.

Allison Miller | Drums, 2013, and Mirror, 2013 (installation view), both acrylic and pencil on canvas.  Photo by Jason Ramos.

Britton Tolliver | Pointless Whispers from a Sea Captain, 2013, (installation view) acrylic on panel.  Photo by Jason Ramos.

Mattias Faldbakken | Remainder XVII, 2013, ceramic tile.  Photo courtesy of Justin Lowman

There is a broad range of strategies and levels of experience with wider presentation models under the Farmers and Merchants Bank’s roof for this exhibition. Any initial observation or critique regarding which pieces “work” within the space soon gives way to viewing through the contextual lens LAND provides with its stated mission and previous exhibitions. On the level of artist-run, alternative, and non-institutional contemporary art initiatives, as well as throughout modern art history, the role of pop-up exhibitions and repurposed spaces have often served to present emerging and less commercial projects of painting, sculpture, and all other medium-designations. LAND’s evoking of this model within one of Los Angeles’ oldest places of finance, the former home of a bank that was eventually consumed by Bank of America, provides one of the richest strains of further thought on the exhibition. Also interesting is how some artists engaged with ideas of site-specificity turn to the language of painting. Sara Cain, Faldbakken, Furnas, and others not included in the exhibition (Katharina Grosse comes to mind) seem to have a broad overlap in terms of site and installation. The possible direction represented by individual artists’ strategies in the exhibition, as in Grant and van Genderen, offer further avenues of dialogue.  A comparison of the exhibition to Laura Owen’s recent installation of paintings in the Gavin Brown-owned re-purposed space at 356 Mission in Boyle Heights, could also produce useful data.  LAND’s opportunity to present an exhibition within the historic space of the bank could have taken myriad forms; Painting In Place could be read as a capitulation, an editorial, a mixing and matching of curatorial modes, or just a response by selected painters not so much to the site as much as to the situation. Art’s current relationship to capital makes for an argument, albeit a cynical-sounding one, that today’s art museums are banks themselves in the sense that they are storage vaults for personal wealth, earning their owners a type of priceless interest. With the bank as a specific situation to respond to, the exhibition has a rich vein to tap for allegory in the current dialogue without seeming overly-entertained with itself in regards to the novelty of the surface premise. LAND could perhaps have done a deeper investigation as to how painting and site- or situation-specificity intersect in the show (as they have in other projects). But allowing each artist to respond individually to the space is riskier and perhaps presents more of a challenge; the exhibit stands as an informative and interesting document of responses.

—

Jason Ramos is an artist, curator, and writer based in Los Angeles.  He earned an MFA  in painting from Cal State Fullerton in 2007.  He is the director of RAID Projects and current assistant curator of the Torrance Art Museum.  His art work has been included in numerous exhibitions in Los Angeles and beyond.

MIXED GREENS GROUP PORTRAIT: In the back (L-R): Monica Herman and Courtney Strimple. In the front (L-R), Heather Darcy Bhandari and Steven Sergiovanni.

Setting out to document this Gallerist at Home spread with four distinct gallerists, homes, and art collections was tricky, but it is wonderful to see where their tastes and collecting practices overlap, shedding light on their collaborative processes.  Focusing on exhibitions coordinator Courtney Strimple and directors Steve Sergiovanni, Heather Darcy Bhandari, and Monica Herman, I asked them to explore their two favorite interior spaces and works of art and to share the stories behind them.  Enjoy this look into the more private collections and art inside the homes of the faces behind Mixed Greens. – Ellen C. Caldwell, Los Angeles Contributor

COURTNEY STRIMPLE, Exhibitions Coordinator

Courtney Strimple’s dining room: Salon-style wall (from left to right): Chris Kerr & DeeDee Scacci, Lint Roller, 2008, Wood, acrylic paint; Joan Linder, Untitled (hand bones), 2006, Ink on paper; Rob Nadeau, Untitled, 2008, Gouache on paper; Alyson Shotz, From the Natural Selections Portfolio, 1999, Iris print; Leah Tinari, Courtney, 2006, Graphite on paper; Kristine Marx, Grafting, 2007, Archival marker on paper; Veronica De Jesus, Untitled, 2009, Gouache on paper; Christina Mazzalupo, Body Parts, 2008, Gouache on paper; Ryan Sarah Murphy, What the day did out here and what it was like, 2011, Cardboard, glue; and Rob Nadeau, Untitled, 2007, Gouache on paper.

Courtney: I think the first work of art I bought was a small panel painting by Mark Mulroney.  Initially I could only afford small-sized artworks.  So I amassed a collection of smaller pieces, and began to incorporate them into a salon-style hanging.   Now everything in my apartment is hung in clusters.  In this photo, a majority of the works were either given to me by artists, or were purchased at the NurtureArt Benefit Auction.  The very first piece I ever bought at an art fair was the little wooden lint roller sculpture.  I bought it at the NEXT Fair in Chicago years ago.  It meant a lot to me at the time to be able to find something in an affordable price range.  In the upper right hand corner is a collage by Ryan Sarah Murphy.  I missed out on one of her works at the 2010 NurtureArt Benefit, so at the 2011 Benefit I sprinted to nab it before anyone else could.  I still feel victorious every time I look at it.

Courtney Strimple’s dining room detail on console: Susan Bricker, Boy’s Town, 2010, Acrylic on paper; Christina Mazzalupo, Sogno, 2006, Ink on vellum; and Mark Mulroney, Untitled, 2012, Acrylic on panel.

Courtney: The little blue panel painting was a gift from Mark Mulroney.  He and his wife were house sitters for my apartment and they left behind a medley of mini artworks.  I was blown away by their generosity.  But by far the best treat was a vintage copy of the novel “Ben and Me” (my fiance’s name is Ben) which sits in a stack on the console.  Mark filled the pages with (rather explicit) drawings in true Mulroney-fashion.  It was quite the surprise.

STEVEN SERGIOVANNI, Director

Steven Sergiovanni’s entryway: Nam June Paik, Untitled, 1997, Oil pastel on paper, 22 x 30 inches; Zilvinas Kempinas, Light Formation, 2009, Acrylic paint, wood, nails, lights, 48 x 24 ½ x 11 inches; and Rob Nadeau, Untitled, 2009, Acrylic on paper, 7 x 5 inches.

Steven: I purchased Zilvinas Kempinas‘ wall sculpture at Basel in 2009, when we were exhibiting at VOLTA.   I had just moved into a new apartment and was looking for a piece specifically for that wall in my entry area.  I had become familiar with Zilvinas’ work, and became a huge fan, after seeing his sculpture at SF MOMA in 2008.  Light Formation transforms space with the most minimal means of light and shadow, perfect for my somewhat cave-like apartment.

Steven Sergiovanni’s bedroom: John Garrett Slaby, Cigarette Pack, 2008, Painted wood, 3 ½ x 2 ½ x 1 inches; Nick Waplington, Living Room Series, 1996, C-Print, 28 x 40 inches; and Zoe Charlton & Rick Delaney, There Goes the Neighborhood, 2006, Hand-painted plastic gnome, 11 x 6 x 7 inches.

Steven: Nick Waplington’s Living Room series depicted Britain’s working class in a somewhat grim, yet beautifully photographed series, which later became a successful book.  This photograph was a gift of the artist, whom I worked with for many years at Holly Solomon Gallery.  The piece is like nothing else I own and it has found a permanent place on my bedroom wall; I just love it.

Steven Sergiovanni’s interior: Virgil Marti, Bullies, 1999, Silkscreen on mirror, 17 x 11 inches; Joseph Smolinski, Temple, 2007, Graphite on paper, 11 x 13 ½ inches; Joseph Smolinski, Untitled, 2011, Graphite on paper, 11 x 13 ½ inches; Justin Giunta, Untitled, 2009, Lacquer paint on linden wood, Grouping of 6, dimensions variable; and Rob Carter, Union Territory, 2009, Digital C-Print, 25 x 25 inches.

HEATHER DARCY BHANDARI, Director

Heather Darcy Bhandari’s living room (from left to right): Joan Linder, Prospect & York, 2001, Ink on paper, 40 x 52.5 inches; Rob Carter, Union Territory, 2009, Digital c-print, 48 x 35 inches; and Ken Fandell, Um, Sure, Sort of, Maybe, Like, 2001, 5 c-prints, unique, each 4 x 6 inches.

Heather: The works by Rob Carter and Joan Linder provide windows in an otherwise windowless corner. Rob’s work was chosen by me and my husband as an anniversary present to one another. The work juxtaposes Le Corbusier’s Assembly Building in Chandigarh, India, and The Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England. Both are architecturally alien to their locations and the plants Rob has grown unify the structures.  Joan Linder’s drawing hits very close to home. Literally.  When I bought the piece many years ago, little did I know I would live a 5-minute walk from the corner where Joan drew the piece!

The Ken Fandell work was one of the first pieces I ever bought and I still love it. I got it from Tony Wight at Bodybuilder and Sportsman Gallery in Chicago. The whole experience of buying art from a gallery was really new to me and somewhat intimidating even though I worked in a gallery. Tony was amazing and I’ve gotten to know and show Ken a few times since. Although it was a stretch for me to buy art at the time, I’m so happy I did.

Heather Darcy Bhandari’s dining room; On brown wall: Mary Temple, Rapid Intervention Reality, 2011, site-specific latex paint on existing architecture, 140 x 120 inches; On right wall: Edward del Rosario, Reformations, 2006, Etching with hand coloring, 28 x 22 inches; and Edward del Rosario, Inquisitions, 2006, Etching with hand coloring, 28 x 22 inches.

Heather: The dining room is another windowless area of our apartment that needed the illusion of light.  It was the perfect space for a Mary Temple light installation. The wall utterly transforms the space and creates a little bit of magic. The Edward del Rosario prints were done at the Lower East Side Printshop. I had admired his emotionally charged narrative paintings for years and getting a pair of prints was the best way for me to live with the work.

MONICA HERMAN, Director

Monica Herman’s interior: Rory Donaldson, Shine Against: Willingly Mine, 2011, Digital photography, 14 x 11 inches; Angela Dufresne, Rieight, 2011, Oil on canvas, 13 x 15 inches; Whiting Tennis, Drawing (Red Blue Yellow), 2012, China marker, acrylic paint, 12 x 9 inches; Rob Nadeau (top), Untitled, 2006, Gouache on paper, 7 x 5 inches; and Rob Nadeau (bottom); Untitled, 2008, Gouache on paper, 7 x 5 inches.

Monica: The Rory Donaldson, Angela Dufresne, Whiting Tennis and Rob Nadeau works were grouped together to set a mood for the room.  I simply wanted to create a sunny and cheerful atmosphere, which I think happens (for me at least) with the colors and shapes.  I don’t collect much photography, but I love the Rory Donaldson for its painterly, albeit digital, “brushstroke.”  I don’t know why, but for some reason the work reminds me of the light in a scene from Love Affair (the remake of An Affair to Remember).  It’s not even a favorite movie of mine, but the scene – something about being temporarily stranded on an island – has stuck with me.  Last year, I found the Whiting Tennis drawing at an Aldrich Undercover benefit, and did a silent shriek of joy when I realized it was still available.  I was also very fortunate to “win” the Angela Dufresne painting at a Momenta Art benefit.  The Rob Nadeau drawings are dear to me, as well, and I always find a place to hang them somewhere in our apartment.

Monica Herman’s hallway: Chris Duncan, So It Goes, 2008, Gouache, watercolor, marker, spraypaint on wood panel, 24 x 20 inches; Svenja Deininger, Untitled, 2012, Oil on canvas, 11 x 8 1/4 inches; and Dan Gunn, Swivel, 2010, Acrylic and colored pencil on wood, 12 x 8 inches.

Monica: The Chris Duncan, Svenja Deininger and Dan Gunn works were all, coincidentally, purchased at various art fairs.  In each instance, seeing the work stopped me in my tracks and beckoned a closer look.  Seeing each painting then gave me that initial rush of happiness that still exists today.  The most recent purchase was the Deininger at Galerie Martin Janda at last year’s Frieze New York.  I am just captivated by the surface of this painting, which one can’t really get an accurate sense of in this particular photo.

—

Mixed Greens is currently showing Mars’ Planet, Leah Tinari’s sixth solo exhibition with the gallery.  It runs through July 3^rd, with the following two shows opening July 11^th: Crossing the Line: Contemporary Drawing and Artistic Process; curated by Dexter Wimberly & Larry Ossei-Mensah and Paris-Scope: Sanam Enayati {re.side…} yet again.

Mixed Greens’ next submission review will take place in August 2013.  They will accept submission packets during the month of July only.  In January of 2014, they will accept new proposals for the Mixed Greens windows (3 windows facing 26th Street).  Currently, they only accept proposals by artists living in the United States.  Please visit their site for more information and application specifications.

Ellen C. Caldwell is an LA-based art historian, editor, and writer.

For more information on Ms. Bishop, click “read more” below.

Janet Bishop is curator of painting and sculpture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). In this capacity, Bishop’s primary responsibilities include the acquisition, research, presentation, and interpretation of objects in the permanent collection of the Painting and Sculpture Department and the organization of special exhibitions.

Bishop was one of the lead curators for The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde — an award-winning and critically acclaimed historical exhibition that premiered at SFMOMA and traveled to the Grand Palais, Paris, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2011-12). Other exhibition projects of special note include 75 Years of Looking Forward: The Anniversary Show (2010-11), a major reinstallation of SFMOMA’s collection assembling some 400 works in all media; Robert Bechtle: A Retrospective (2005-6), the first comprehensive exhibition of the California realist’s paintings and drawings; and 010101: Art in Technological Times (2001), which brought together the work of 20 international contemporary artists on the occasion of the millennium. Bishop is currently at work on a Matisse/Diebenkorn exhibition, which she is co-organizing with the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the first David Park exhibition to examine the full scope of the artist’s output. She is also overseeing the museum’s off-site exhibition programming during its expansion construction period from the summer of 2013 through early 2016.

Bishop joined SFMOMA as a curatorial assistant in 1988, was promoted to Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture in 1992, and was named Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture in 1997. She was promoted to her current position in 2000. Prior to joining SFMOMA, Bishop worked at the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University (1987-88) and at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University (1984-85). She received her BA in art history and psychology from Cornell University in 1985 and her MA in art history from Columbia University in 1988.

Gedi Sibony Installation View, Greene Naftali, NY. Image courtesy Greene Naftali.

Gedi Sibony Installation View, Greene Naftali, NY. Image courtesy Greene Naftali.

Beyond the small room of framed works, the remainder of the gallery is entirely lit by the northeastern facing windows of Greene Naftali’s eighth floor space. This changes and dramatizes the experience of the sculptures depending on the time of day or weather. Indeed, the term ‘dramatize’ is an apt one—many of the free-standing sculptures in the show evoke similarities to stage props or backdrops, their found materials and crude constructions reminding one of alternative or guerrilla theater productions.

Gedi Sibony Installation View, Greene Naftali, NY. Image courtesy Greene Naftali.

Gedi Sibony | Eight More Petals, 2013, Wood, foam core, cardboard, paper, tape, 97 x 44 x 18 inches. Image courtesy Greene Naftali.

Upon entering the main gallery, one encounters by a large, semi-circular structure, placed between two large columns. Titled The Porcelains, the structure appears as a stage might, centrally positioned, and providing a flat plane on which to stand. However, its pristinely white appearance, and title that equally references distance and fragility, betrays its lack of use, causing us to contemplate its latent possibilities.

Gedi Sibony | Ceaseless Episodes of Blossom, 2013, Carpet, primer, 98 x 73 ½ inches. Image courtesy Greene Naftali.

One of the several works that employs the backsides of large rugs—a method that falls in line with Sibony’s reversed prints also on view—is Ceaseless Episodes of Blossom. The large triptych is positioned behind the semi-circular ‘stage,’ as if a backdrop, and features a grid of four reoccurring emblems, each signifying one of the four seasons. The juxtaposition of a rigorous grid format combined with the randomness of the emblems’ repetition aligns the work with those like Alighiero Boetti and the Arte Povera movement in general, a connection that is also referred to in Sibony’s use of raw and found materials.

Gedi Sibony Installation View, Greene Naftali, NY. Image courtesy Greene Naftali.

Another function of the large, obtrusive structure in the center of the gallery is that it forces visitors to move along the periphery of the space, whether or not they are aware of it. Thus it fits with Sibony’s declaration that he likes to “complicate space” with his sculptures, compelling viewers to inadvertently move in patterns or configurations that they might not otherwise within a gallery.

Gedi Sibony | Grants Every Gift, 2013, Carpet, toy Ferris wheel, 90 ¼ x 71 ¾ x 7 inches. Image courtesy Greene Naftali.

Similarly compelling such movement is a large carpet fragment titled Grants Every Gift, hung with its underside exposed, and lying unevenly against the wall. When one instinctively peeks around the side of the work to look for an obstruction, one sees a small toy Ferris wheel wedged between the rug’s surface and the wall, suspended at roughly eye level. This hidden and unexpected object is evidence of the wry humor present in much of the artist’s practice, and slyly gestures at his ability to “toy” with our assumptions and expectations.

Gedi Sibony Installation View, Greene Naftali, NY. Image courtesy Greene Naftali.

—

Gedi Sibony was born in 1973, and is originally from New York, where he currently lives and works. He holds a BA from Brown and an MFA from Columbia University. Since 2000, his work has been exhibited widely in the US and Europe. His sculptures were included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial, and the 6^th Berlin Biennale in 2008.

Gedi Sibony is on view at Greene Naftali Gallery in New York through June 15^th. 

Nadiah Fellah is a graduate student of Art History at The Graduate Center, CUNY in New York.

Zach Meisner, Installation View, 2013. Courtesy of the artist and Courtney Blades.

For Meisner, the experience of looking adjusts the painting’s form as you see it – though the paintings exist first on formal and physical terms, they are postpositively defined by the phenomenal, subtly different variations they present to the viewer depending on their location.  Though the paintings contain Op elements identifiable from the mid 1960s, the action never happens until you are up close.  Each painting contains within it an encased “window” through which different experiences emerge; little vistas where color, form, and line dance in different ways.  There is also secret sense of humor to the palette, a combination of purposely-offensive fluorescents, prettily subdued pastels, and office supply standards, which Meisner effortlessly manipulates at his will.  Like facets of a crystal, they shift and change with light.  While the paintings remain small, smaller than easel-sized in most cases, they articulate themselves on a much larger scale; the generosity of the paintings outweighs their seemingly miniature size.  The newest collection of work in this exhibition acts as documentation of a pictorial language that Meisner has been developing for almost 15 years.  At once hieroglyphic and deadpan, the paintings are equally symbolic as they are formal.

Zach Meisner | Untitled, 2013, Acrylic, MDF, Plexiglas, and Screen-print, 14.75 x 10” Courtesy of the artist and Courtney Blades.

In this sense, the term “postpositive” registers with the exhibition in a few ways, first in the act of looking, but also as an explanation of Meisner’s attitudes toward taste.  As a direct translation would have it, the paintings are therefore beyond good.  Since Meisner’s style is so apparent and foregrounded in the work, taste no longer becomes a valid part of the formula for speaking about his work.  A reason for not liking a particular painting would be a physical reaction rather than a critical one; the response is defined by whether or not our eyes naturally find that hue of orange pleasant, not whether it suits our aesthetics.  In this way, Meisner retroactively makes a reality of Op’s obsession with the phenomenon of a mirror, in the truest sense.  His paintings reflect the viewer’s literal vision within the object, since they behave as we see them, but they also reflect the other paintings in the room, because of the shared formal syntax.

Zach Meisner, Untitled, 2013. Acrylic, MDF, Plexiglas, and Screen-print, 16 x 15” Courtesy of the artist and Courtney Blades.

While in most cases this formula would be insular and exhaustive, in this context the paintings are open books.  In a piece that gives a nice nod to Donald Judd, consisting of stacked mirrored orbs unassumingly placed on an edge of the gallery wall, Meisner continues to redefine Op standards of reflection.  Though at first the piece seems to be a different variety of work, compared to the otherwise hard-edged paintings that command space, the installation offers what the interior windows of the surrounding paintings let you experience, yet floating and unbound.  The small sculptures resemble billowing iridescent bubbles, where delicate hues of vibrant purples shift to green, and orange-pinks to pale blues.  Likely made out of a mirrored surface below paperweight, the piece further delves into the formal playground Meisner occupies himself with – taking ordinary objects and making them exquisite, even if for just a second.

Zach Meisner, Installation View, 2013. Courtesy of the artist and Courtney Blades.

Meisner’s attitude toward seeing is but a symbol of vision reflected in material things: chromatic palpitations, little jolts of retinal electricity, interference, moirés, and visual distortions.   Like the work of his predecessors, Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely to name a few, the paintings in this exhibit create a digital space out of analog means – a gesture that speaks to the currency of Op’s dependency on a viewer’s displacement in relation to the image plane, yet certainly within a different context given the digital possibilities available in 2013.

Zach Meisner, Untitled, 2013. Acrylic, MDF, Birch, and Plexiglas 10 x 5” Courtesy of the artist and Courtney Blades.

While Meisner holds steadfastly to elements that define his immediate style – the shaped relief supports, color, form and contour, compositional balances between symmetry and asymmetry – we arrive at something fresh and exciting in each one.  We arrive at the possibility of a history without weight, a lightness that allows us to rewrite experiences retroactively through visual means, and make them new again.

Zach Meisner, Untitled, 2013. Acrylic, MDF, Birch, and Plexiglas, 25 5/8 X 15 Inches, Courtesy of the artist and Courtney Blades.

—

Zach Meisner was born in Taos, New Mexico, and currently lives/works in Chicago, IL. Meisner has exhibited in New Mexico, Colorado, and Chicago. In September 2012 he had a solo exhibition Low-Relief at the LeRoy Neiman Center Gallery.

Stephanie Cristello is an artist, curator, and writer who lives and works in Chicago, IL.

You can order the issue here!

After the jump see a full list of the artists selected for the NAP #103 and few sneak peek photos!

Cover by: Ally White

Southern Competition Winners:

Anita Arliss
Luis Cruz Azaceta
Amy Boone-Mcreesh 
Ryan Browning
Jason R. Butcher
Carolyn Case
Joshua Chambers
Nicole Charbonnet
Paul Collins
Henry Detweiler
Joelle Dietrick
Troy Dugas
Gonzalo Fuenmayor
Jason Galbut
Christine Gray
Brian Guidry
Jay Hendrick
Kelley Johnson
Jordan Kasey
J.T. Kirkland
Ryan Lauterio
Erin McIntosh
Alex McKenzie
Marilyn Murphy
Chris Musina
Adam Mysock
Erika Osborne
Stephanie Patton
Anthony Record
D’Metrius John Rice
Jim Richard
Paul Rodecker
Ben Seamons
Tracy Stuckey
Zack Underwood
Ally White
Blade Wynne
Paul Yanko
Trevor Young
Monica Zeringue

Fay Ku | Threat, 2011, graphite, watercolor and ink on paper, 19 x 27.5 inches, image courtesy of Eight Modern

Fay Ku | Local Weather, 2011, graphite, watercolor and ink on paper, 27.5 x 39 inches, image courtesy of Eight Modern

Fay Ku | Bird Fight, 2013, 2011, graphite, watercolor and ink on paper, 27.5 x 39 inches, image courtesy of Eight Modern

The exhibition title is a reference to Italian director Federico Felini’s cinematic masterpiece, 8 ½ in which the protagonist Guido recalls a scene from his childhood. In the movie, “Asa Nisi Masa” is an invented word, (similar to what Americans would consider Pig Latin) chanted by children at midnight with the hopes of bringing a wall portrait to life. The subtraction of the syllables “sa”,”si”, and “sa” from “Asa Nisi Masa” (respectively) reveals the Italian word anima, which translates as ‘soul’ or ‘life force,’ and is further derived from the verb animare as ‘to animate’ or ‘to give life.’ Ku’s work imbues a kind of unspoken power — both visually and psychologically speaking; the various depictions are at once unsettlingly beautiful and whimsically bizarre, but regardless, all seem poised to literally leap off the page.

Fay Ku | Harpy, 2013, 2011, graphite, watercolor, ink and metallic color on paper, 39 x 27.5 inches, image courtesy of Eight Modern

Fay Ku | Rain or Shine, 2012, graphite, watercolor and ink on paper, 27.5 x 39 inches, image courtesy of Eight Modern

Detail | Preen, 2013 graphite, watercolor and ink on paper 39 x 27.5 inches

Detail  | Threat, 2011, graphite, watercolor, ink and metallic color on paper, 19 x 27.5 inches

Her meticulous line work speaks to an exactitude of skill and precision, but surprisingly upon closer inspection, erasures and imperfections become faintly visible. Various appendages, body positions and expressions show evidence of reworking; the subtle changes to the articulation of gesturing fingers and toes reinforce the delicate nature of her craft. Ku admits that she makes no attempt to hide these marks as they help define her process.  These finished works become the direct result of her exploration of the image making process, without preconceptions of what the final piece will look like. Even her decision to use printmaking paper, a medium not necessarily ideally suited for drawing (as the surface abrades and marks easily), serves as an obstruction of sorts, allowing her to be more objective and deliberate in her mark making while challenging her artistic approach.

Detail | Rain or Shine, 2012, graphite, watercolor and ink on paper, 27.5 x 39 inches

Detail | Woman and Seven-Headed Beast, 2013, graphite, watercolor and ink on paper, 27.5 x 39 inches

—

Asa Nisa Masa is on view through July 14^th.

Fay Ku has an M.S. in Art History and an M.F.A. in Studio Art from the Pratt Institute. She also holds a dual B.A. in literature and visual arts from Bennington College. Ku has been awarded numerous residencies from organizations such as the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Santa Fe Art Institute, the National Performance Network, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art. Currently based in Brooklyn, the artist has also received grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the A.I.R. Emerging Artist Fellowship, the National Performance Network and the Urban Artists Initiative. Her work resides in the collections of the Asian American Art Centre in New York, The Contemporary Museum in Hawaii, the New Britain Museum of American Art and the University of New Mexico Art Museum.

Claude Smith is an arts administrator and educator based in Albuquerque.

There have been many strong shows by mid-career and mature artists as of late. This month the trend continues. In Houston, one of Chicago’s best-known exports, Judy Ledgerwood, has new work up at Barbara Davis Gallery. Maggi Brown, a longtime presence in Boston’s art scene, is on view at Barbara Krakow Gallery. Los Angeles boasts stellar shows by John Wesley and Gary Simmons, at David Kordansky Gallery and Regen Projects, respectively. In New York City, Wolf Kahn at Ameringer McEnery Yohe, Phillip Taaffe at Luhring Augustine, Betty Woodman at Salon 94, and the aforementioned John Zurier are all well worth a visit.

Also in New Work City, Matthew Marks has dedicated three of his gallery spaces to the work of Ellsworth Kelly, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Age does not seem to have slowed Kelly down. The fourteen paintings and two sculptures on view were all executed within the past two years. After seven decades, Kelly continues to rigorously pursue line, color and form.  Enjoy the list! – Steven Zevitas, Publisher

Ann Toebbe. Courtesy of Monya Rowe Gallery.

NEW AMERICAN PAINTINGS ARTISTS ON VIEW

 ATLANTA:

Andy Moon Wilson (NAP #45)
June 22 – July 27, 2013
Get This! Gallery

Andy Moon Wilson. Courtesy of Get This! Gallery.

AUSTIN/DALLAS/HOUSTON:

Ted Larsen (NAP #5, #90)
May 18 – June 22, 2013
Conduit Gallery

BALTIMORE/DC/PHILLY:

All Black, (Featuring Astrid Bowlby NAP #45,  #57)      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 3 – June 15, 2013
Gallery Joe

BOSTON:

Maggi Brown (NAP #7, #44)
June 8 – July 23, 2013
Barbara Krakow Gallery

Group Exhibition, Featuring Craig Drennen (NAP #70, #84), Suzannah Sinclair (NAP #74), Steve Locke (NAP #86), Summer Wheat (NAP #98)
May 31 – July 27, 2013
Samson

CHICAGO:

Samantha Bittman (NAP #87, #101)      PUBLISHER’S PICK
Gabriel Pionkowski (NAP #101)
June 14 – August 3, 2013
Thomas Robertello Gallery

Gabriel Pionkowski. Courtesy of Thomas Robertello Gallery.

Amy Casey (NAP #71, #83)
June 2013
Zg Gallery

DENVER/PHOENIX/SANTA FE:

Glance at the Sun, Featuring Ali Cavanaugh (NAP #88)
June/July 2013
gf contemporary

Materialized, Featuring Kate Petley (NAP #54, #66), Jaq Chartier (NAP #13, #31, #61)
May 16 – June 27, 2013
Robischon Gallery

LOS ANGELES:

Nancy White  (NAP #73, #85)      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 11 – June 22, 2013
Jancar Jones Gallery

Nancy White. Courtesy of Jancar Jones Gallery.

Brendan Monroe (NAP #97)
June 2013
Richard Heller Gallery

Kyle Field (NAP #67)
June 8 – July 27, 2013
Taylor De Cordoba

Christine Frerichs (NAP #56)
June 15 – July 27, 2013
gallery km

NYC:

Floater, Featuring Amanda Valdez (NAP #99)
May 22 – June 28, 2013
BravinLee Programs

Carolyn Case (NAP #39, #69, #106)
June 6 – July 13, 2013
Asya Geisberg Gallery

Garth Weiser  (NAP #74)      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 4 – June 22, 2013
Casey Kaplan

Garth Weiser. Courtesy of Casey Kaplan.

Lorna Williams (NAP #69)
May 18 – June 29, 2013
Dodge Gallery

Erin Murray (NAP #69, #98)
May 9 – June 15, 2013
Nancy Margolis Gallery

Tim Bavington (NAP #42)
May 16 – June 29, 2013
Jack Shainman Gallery

Tabitha Vevers  (NAP #44, #56)
May 30 – June 29, 2013
Lori Bookstein Fine Art

Ann Toebbe (NAP #71, #95)      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 2 – June 15, 2013
Monya Rowe Gallery

John Zurier (NAP #55)      PUBLISHER’S PICK
April 25 – June 22, 2013
Peter Blum Gallery

PORTLAND/SEATTLE:

Range, Featuring Victoria Haven (NAP #6, NAP #49), James Lavadour (NAP #6)
June 4 – 29, 2013
PDX

Victoria Haven. Courtesy of PDX.

Susanna Bluhm (NAP #53, #67, #91)
June 6 – July 20, 2013
Prole Drift

Susanna Bluhm. Courtesy of Prole Drift.

SAN FRANCISCO:

Karla Wozniak  (NAP #100)      PUBLISHER’S PICK
June 5 – July 20 -, 2013
Gregory Lind Gallery

Karla Wozniak. Courtesy of Gregory Lind Gallery.

Eric Zener  (NAP #19)
June 4 – 29, 2013
Hespe Gallery

SOUTH:

Pinkney Herbert  (NAP #9)
May 22 – June 22, 2013
David Lusk Gallery

OTHER NOTEABLE SHOWS

ATLANTA:

Alex Brewer
June 2013
Sandler Hudson Gallery

Mimi Hart Silver
June 21 – July 27, 2013
Whitespace

AUSTIN/DALLAS/HOUSTON:

Joan Hall
May 31 – June 30, 2013
Anya Tish Gallery

Judy Ledgerwood      PUBLISHER’S PICK
Mat 31 – July 5, 2013
Barbara Davis Gallery

Judy Ledgerwood. Courtesy of Barbara Davis Gallery.

Kirsten Macy
June 1 – July 13, 2013
Barry Whistler Gallery

Ruben Nieto
May 18 – June 22, 2013
Cris Worley Fine Arts

Darren Waterston
May 17 – June 22, 2013
Inman Gallery

Jason Middlebrook      PUBLISHER’S PICK
June 29 – August 10, 2013
Lora Reynolds Gallery

Andis Applewhite
June 1 – July 6, 2013
McMurtrey Gallery

Arthur Turner
June 1 – July 6, 2013
Moody Gallery

Helen Altman
June 8 – July 27, 2013
Talley Dunn Gallery

Jeff Elrod / Jeremy Deprez      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 30 – July 6, 2013
Texas Gallery

BALTIMORE/DC/PHILLY:

Dennis Lee Mitchell
May 23 – July 6, 2013
C. Grimaldis Gallery

Max Cole
May 18 – June 22, 2013
Larry Becker Contemporary Art

My Kind of Magic
May 18 – June 19, 2013
Project 4

Carloline Santa
Mauro Zamora
May 9 – June 22, 2013
Rebekah Templeton Contemporary Art

CHICAGO:

Cody Hudson      PUBLISHER’S PICK
June 7 – July 25, 2013
Andrew Rafacz

New Work From Kansas City
June 8 – July 27, 2013
Carrie Secrist Gallery

Gina Litherland
May 17 – June 22, 2013
Corbett vs. Dempsey

Matt Rich      PUBLISHER’S PICK
April 28 – June 8, 2013
Devening Projects + Editions

McArthur Binnion      PUBLISHER’S PICK
April 6 – June 22, 2013
Kavi Gupta

Judith Rothschild
May 10 – June 29, 2013
Valerie Carberry Gallery

DENVER/PHOENIX/SANTA FE:

Stephen Dean
June 21 – July 21, 2013
Baldwin Gallery

Beverly Fishman
May 10 – June 15, 2013
David Richard Gallery

Michael Theodore
May 11 – June 15, 2013
David B. Smith Gallery

Fay Ku
May 31 – July 14, 2013
Eight Modern

LOS ANGELES:

Julian Hoeber      PUBLISHER’S PICK
June 6 – July 13, 2013
Blum & Poe

Julian Hoeber. Courtesy of Blum & Poe.

Jim Dine
April 25 – June 14, 2013
Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art

Juan Usle
May 30 – July 6, 2013
LA Louver

John Wesley      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 18 – July 6, 2013
David Kordansky Gallery

John Wesley. Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery.

Adonna Khare
June 2013
Lora Schlesinger Gallery

Gary Simmons      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 18 – June 22, 2013
Regen Projects

Gary Simmons. Courtesy of Regen Projects.

Richard Hawkins
May 18 – June 22, 2013
Richard Telles Fine Art

Yunhee Min
June 1 – July 6, 2013
Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects

Dion Johnson
June 15 – July 20, 2013
Western Project

Jennifer Wolf
June 1 – July 16, 2013
William Turner Gallery

MIAMI:

Shinique Smith      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 17 – July 6, 2013
David Castillo

Shinique Smith. Courtesy of David Castillo.

MIDWEST:

Milton Glaser
April 12 – July 13, 2013
Carl Solway Gallery

Stephen Ellis, Arnold Helbing, and Valerie Jaudon
June 2013
Philip Slein Gallery

NEW ORLEANS:

Philadelphia
June 1 – July 27, 2013
Jonathan Ferrara Gallery

NYC:

Contact High
May 1 – June 16, 2013
American Contemporary

Wolf Kahn
June 6 – July 26, 2013
Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe

Wolf Kahn. Courtesy of Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe.

Agathe de Bailliencourt
May 2 – June 29, 2013
Benrimon Contemporary

John Lees
May 16 – June 22, 2013
Betty Cunningham Gallery

Dan Fischer      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 30 – June 29, 2013
Derek Eller Gallery

Dan Fischer. Courtesy of Derek Eller Gallery.

Israel Lund
June/July 2013
Eleven Rivington

I want that inside me
June 13 – August 2, 2013
Feature Inc

Peter Allen Hoffmann
May 30 – July 6, 2013
Freight + Volume

Troy Brauntuch
May 10 – June 13, 2013
Friedrich Petzel Gallery

Cecily Brown
May 7 – June 22, 2013
Gagosian Gallery

Gedi Sibony       PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 10 – June 15, 2013
Greene Naftali

Gedi Sibony. Courtesy of Greene Naftali.

Armin Boehm
May 10 – June 15, 2013
Harris Lieberman

Trudy Benson
April 25 – June 16, 2013
Horton Gallery

Chris Hipkiss
June 13 – July 12, 2013
Jack Hanley Gallery

Mark Shetabi
May 10 – June 22, 2013
Jeff Bailey Gallery

Shaking the Habitual
May 16 – June 15, 2013
Kravets | Wehby Gallery

Frank Nitsche
May 31 – July 20, 2013
Leo Koenig Inc.

Philip Taaffe      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 3 – June 15, 2013
Luhring Augustine

Philip Taaffe. Courtesy of Luhring Augustine.

Julie Mehretu
May 11 – June 22, 2013
Marian Goodman Gallery

Peter Halley
May 2 – June 29, 2013
Mary Boone Gallery

Ellsworth Kelly      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 11 – June 29, 2013
Matthew Marks Gallery

Ellsworth Kelly. Courtesy of Matthew Marks Gallery.

Elizabeth Peyton
April 19 – June 15, 2013
Michael Werner

Daniel Lefcourt      PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 23 – July 3, 2013
Mitchell-Innes & Nash

Eamon Ore-Giron
June 13 – July 12, 2013
Nicelle Beauchene Gallery

Daniel Zeller       PUBLISHER’S PICK
May 31 – June 30, 2013
Pierogi

Daniel Zeller. Courtesy of Pierogi.

Mark Greenwold
May 10 – June 28, 2013
Sperone Westwater

Andreas Schulze
May 17 – June 23, 2013
team (gallery, inc.)

Betty Woodman      PUBLISHER’S PICK
Amy Bessone
May 7 – June 14, 2013
Salon 94

Amy Bessone. Courtesy of Sa.on 94.

Ben Grasso
June 9 – July 14, 2013
Thierry Goldberg Gallery

PORTLAND/SEATTLE:

Michelle Ross
June 6 – 29, 2013
Elizabeth Leach Gallery

Daniel Minkoff
Andrea Joyce Heimer
June 6 – 29, 2013
Linda Hodges Gallery

Peter Scherrer
May 10 – June 15, 2013
Platform Gallery

SAN FRANCISCO:

Chad Buck
May 2 – June 29, 2013
Brian Gross Fine Art

Joachim Bandau
June 6 – July 27, 2013
Patricia Sweetow Gallery

Nathan Danilowicz, studio installation (detail), 2013, ink and bleach on fabric.  Photo by Jason Ramos.

Nathan Danilowicz, studio installation, 2013, ink and bleach on fabric.  Photo courtesy of the artist.

During a fruitful afternoon conversation at Latned Atsär, Nathan made it clear to me that the only dark art he is truly a devotee of is that of contemporary art.  “Aleister Crowley doesn’t seem like that good of a writer,” Nathan confesses; some of the works of Britain’s Great Beast served as some of his inspirations, as well as other witchy freak-out classics like Peter Caroll’s Liber Null & Pyschonaut.  “I am interested in that kind of world,” Nathan continues, “but engaged with the history of contemporary art, because if I was really into it, I’d be holed up in my space, doing weird stuff and not participating in the art world.”  The methods of painting are real-world analogies for the transformative secret disciplines of old –  “Its not unlike the processes used in alchemy– base materials are being used to create something akin to gold. If you don’t get as far as gold, at least you can make something that is beautiful, interesting, and in some way informs or sheds some light on what it means to be human, to be alive, or to exist in a reality (or realities) that is (are) in flux. I think that is the essence of most art, historical or contemporary.”  Much of Danilowicz’s works effortlessly shifts the aesthetics of Sol Lewitt-style conceptualism into the realm of occult knowledge and symbology.  The work is heir to the more metaphysical influences of some of the seminal figures of modern abstraction: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art‘s 1985 exhibition The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890-1985, reveals that Johannes Itten was a devotee of Mazdaznan, Kandinsky was an apocalyptic theosophist, Mondrian a believer in Anthroposophy.

Nathan Danilowicz, left: Porsei Yagt N, 2013 oil on linen on wood panel, 23 x 21 inches.  right:  Hisz Cowurlenatd (I), acrylic and silver leaf on wood panel, 2012, 18 x 18 niches.

Nathan Danilowicz | Hisz Dat Cowurlen (Mega), 2012, oil, acrylic, and gold leaf.  Photo courtesy of the artist.

As far as Danilowicz’s curatorial efforts go, they are inspired more by instinct, than any specific agenda.  Soon after moving into the space that would become Latned Atsär, Nathan saw the potential for an exhibition platform that could juxtapose emerging artists with mid-career artists, and those coming from different art world social spheres.  His most general guideline is to assert his own curatorial authority in terms of exhibition design, letting the work find a new context in the space, rather than let the artist impose one.  Previous shows included the exhibition Drown Me In Pictures, bringing together painters Amir H Fallah, Alexander Kroll, and Christopher Pate, as well as presentations by Danilowicz himself.  2011′s Lifting The Curse featured paintings by Nathan of 8-bit sprites of vampire body parts from the Nintendo game Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest.  This tongue-in-cheek nod to the world of the supernatural and disembodied figuration reveals the kind of distance and psychology of connections prevalent in Nathan’s mash-ups of esoteric schools of knowledge.

Installation view of Drown Me In Pictures (Amir H Fallah, Alexander Kroll, and Christopher Pate), 2012, Latned Atsär, Los Angeles, CA.  Photo courtesy of Latned Atsär.

Nathan Danilowicz, installation view of Lifting the Curse, 2010, Latned Atsär, Los Angeles, CA.  Photo courtesy of the artist.

Nathan Danilowicz | Heart of Vlad, 2010, acrylic on wood panel, 16 x 16 inches.  Photo courtesy of the artist.

Events of late at Latned Atsär are on temporary hiatus, however.  In addition to all of the above, Nathan, like many working artists, is employed in the art world behind the scenes.  When not exploring the secret knowledge of the occult, Danilowicz works full-time for Regen Projects as one of their art work preparators.  To many, this is a world of secrets itself – though one that perhaps should see the most light.  “I’ve…become more appreciative of the idea of division of labor in the art world: artists make the stuff, curators contextualize it, shippers move it, preparators hang it, writers reflect upon it, dealers sell it, collectors buy it. That’s it. Of course, I talk about division of labor after just talking about how I wear many hats. That kind of undoing, or paradox is an essential part of my art and thought.”  Nathan’s shifting energies are currently directed towards his own practice and day job with Regen.  The public perception of professional artists making a living solely on their practice belies a lifestyle more common among artists in the current economic climate.  The security from conventional employment, whether from within the art world or not, allows artists the freedom to produce and curate without dependence on its commercial viability.  In addition, professional art world positions are frequently staffed by practicing artists themselves, the workplaces serving as networks for organizing their emerging endeavors, and meeting new artists (I myself first met Nathan when we worked together on the preparator crew at the Hammer Museum here in Los Angeles).

Nathan Danilowicz | ToneyThallcach (II), 2012, acrylic, plastic, oil paint pen on wood panel, 18 x 18 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Nathan Danilowicz | Nodabulms Peyr I, 2012, oil paint and pen on paper, 7 x 7 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Nathan Dannilowicz | Idavltn, 2012, acrylic, oil, and tape on wood panel, 18 x 18 inches. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The alchemy of an invested art practice, grass-roots contemporary curating, and practical world professional experience, whether from the world of art or otherwise, describe the strategies of many of the artists who maintain LA’s community of artist-run and alternative spaces and initiatives.  A recent piece written by Anton Vidokle for the e-flux Journal expounds upon a critique of the notion of professional full-time artists, and how, among other things, it describes only a fraction of practicing artists today; a fact openly spoken of rarely, or at best, presented as anecdotal information.  Danilowicz is perhaps uncovering more than one type of occult knowledge in his work – “occult” is derived from the Latin word for “hidden” or “secret.”  In ages past, the mystery of esoteric knowledge dominated much of the discourse of art and its contexts.  Nathan’s painting and drawing practice, is perhaps finding not just the intersection of occult and modern aesthetics, but a usefully apt metaphor for some of the fading notions of today’s cult of contemporary art.

—            

Nathan Danilowicz (b. 1980 Pennsylvania, USA) received an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2007, and a BFA from the Maryland Institute, College of Art in 2002. he has worked in a variety of media to explore ritual, mortality, sci-fi shamanism, fractured psyches, and the liminal space between darkness and understanding. A MacDowell Fellow (2008), he has exhibited nationally and internationally. Solo exhibitions include RAID Projects (2013), and Latned Atsär in Los Angeles (2011), Crisp London/Los Angeles (2008 and 2009/2010), and the H. Lewis Gallery in Baltimore (2004). His numerous group exhibitions include shows the Hammer Museum, Torrance Art Museum, Cal State University’s Luckman Gallery, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, The Santa Monica Museum of Art, Cirrus Gallery, Telic Arts Exchange, Eighth Veil, 533 Gallery, Parendo Blanco, S1F Gallery, Bonelli Contemporary, Wonderloch Kellerland, Chime & Co., Art Platform, and Art LA Contemporary in Los Angeles; Locust Projects and TwentyTwenty Projects in Miami; OK By Gallery and the Zoo Art Fair in London; Max Lust gallery in Vienna, Galerie Françoise E.S.F and Maryland Art Place in Baltimore, The Green Gallery East in Milwaukee; Queen’s Nails Annex at the Waypoint in Marfa, TX; and The Luggage Store gallery in San Francisco. He has written for artUS magazine, and his work has appeared in TimeOut London, Miami New Times, The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore’s City Paper, DIAGRAM, Penny Ante, PRISM Index, The New York Times, and Beautiful Decay.

While at UCLA, Danilowicz studied New Genres under Chris Burden, Jennifer Bolande, Andrea Fraser, Donn Suggs, Lari Pittman, Charles Ray, Mary Kelly, Jeffrey Vallance, and John Baldessari. While at the Maryland Institute, College of Art, he studied art history and theory under T.J. Demos as well as poetry under John Yau. In the past, he has worked as a studio assistant for Jason Rhoades and later for Mike Kelley. More recently, he has collaborated on text/image projects with writer and theorist Lawrence Rickels as well as fiction writer and translator Brian Evenson.

Jason Ramos is an artist, curator, and writer based in Los Angeles.  He earned an MFA  in painting from Cal State Fullerton in 2007.  He is the director of RAID Projects and current assistant curator of the Torrance Art Museum.  His art work has been included in numerous exhibitions in Los Angeles and beyond.  

So, what are you waiting for? The last few minutes of June to Apply? PLEASE DON’T (our technical support people thank you)!!! It’s easy to submit work, you just need 4 images, 1200 pixels at their greatest dimension or less, and a credit card for our submission fee. Go here and apply now if you live in AK, CA, HI, OR, WA!

As always, you can learn a little more about the competition on our website.  Or, check out our FAQs.

GOOD LUCK!