Richard Avedon, Dawoud Bey, Todd Hido, Yasumasa Morimura, Laurel Nakadate, Jack Pierson, Alec Soth, Larry Sultan, and Katherine Wolkoff.
This varied and eclectic selection of contemporary photographic works in the format of the traditional portrait bust was purposefully chosen for the head and shoulders presentation of the subject in a studio environment or other non-referential place. Whether formally posed, snapshot-like, taken from video stills, or rendered using digital means, the works included take a close-up and unflinching examination of the subject, delving into the complexity and psychology of facial expression. Subjects include recognizable figures, anonymous individuals, and the artists themselves.
Included in the exhibition is Richard Avedon’s mesmerizing portrait of Francis Bacon. Avedon described Bacon’s pose in the portrait as “a perfect performance.” Other works included are: a signature triptych portrait by Dawoud Bey revealing three views of the subjects face; a work from Todd Hido’s previously unseen portrait series of women photographed in motel rooms; Yasumasa Morimura’s Picasso-based self portrait as Sylvette; Jack Pierson’s 1997 portrait titled Ed O’Toole, 19th St., a provocative image that features one of his letter-based installations; a work from Alec Soth’s new series of portraits; Larry Sultan’s confrontational Woman in Curlers from The Valley series; a self-portrait video still from We Are All Made of Stars by New York-based artist Laurel Nakadate who is currently exhibiting in PS1’s Greater New York exhibition; and a gorgeous silhouette photograph by New York based artist Katherine Wolkoff.
Also on display at Stephen Wirtz Gallery: New paintings by Marc Katano.
Katano’s recent canvases reveal the artist’s preoccupation with the mark-making process and the opportunities it provides for the creation of a controlled, ordered, and coherent form of invented imagery. The paintings are composed of a matrix of repeated and layered ellipses reduced to their linear outline and rendered in a limited palette of black, white, and gray. The form resembles a collapsed pair of parentheses and is the natural “C” and “D” movement of the arm and wrist, the artist’s calligraphic stroke.
The leaf-shape is a recognizable theme in Katano’s work and the new paintings demonstrate a significant departure from earlier explorations of this form, previously rendered with earth tones and organic hues. However, these works continue to exhibit the artist’s signature optical surfaces composed of superimposed stylized forms that give the illusion of depth and movement. The carefully cultivated line of Katano’s gestural mark is wielded energetically, resulting in a spontaneous yet refined feeling to the work. While reflective of nature, this imagery is specifically inspired by the simple black-and-white lines of Kanji characters, and the resulting works are evocative of traditional Japanese painting.
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This varied and eclectic selection of contemporary photographic works in the format of the traditional portrait bust was purposefully chosen for the head and shoulders presentation of the subject in a studio environment or other non-referential place. Whether formally posed, snapshot-like, taken from video stills, or rendered using digital means, the works included take a close-up and unflinching examination of the subject, delving into the complexity and psychology of facial expression. Subjects include recognizable figures, anonymous individuals, and the artists themselves.
Included in the exhibition is Richard Avedon’s mesmerizing portrait of Francis Bacon. Avedon described Bacon’s pose in the portrait as “a perfect performance.” Other works included are: a signature triptych portrait by Dawoud Bey revealing three views of the subjects face; a work from Todd Hido’s previously unseen portrait series of women photographed in motel rooms; Yasumasa Morimura’s Picasso-based self portrait as Sylvette; Jack Pierson’s 1997 portrait titled Ed O’Toole, 19th St., a provocative image that features one of his letter-based installations; a work from Alec Soth’s new series of portraits; Larry Sultan’s confrontational Woman in Curlers from The Valley series; a self-portrait video still from We Are All Made of Stars by New York-based artist Laurel Nakadate who is currently exhibiting in PS1’s Greater New York exhibition; and a gorgeous silhouette photograph by New York based artist Katherine Wolkoff.
Also on display at Stephen Wirtz Gallery: New paintings by Marc Katano.
Katano’s recent canvases reveal the artist’s preoccupation with the mark-making process and the opportunities it provides for the creation of a controlled, ordered, and coherent form of invented imagery. The paintings are composed of a matrix of repeated and layered ellipses reduced to their linear outline and rendered in a limited palette of black, white, and gray. The form resembles a collapsed pair of parentheses and is the natural “C” and “D” movement of the arm and wrist, the artist’s calligraphic stroke.
The leaf-shape is a recognizable theme in Katano’s work and the new paintings demonstrate a significant departure from earlier explorations of this form, previously rendered with earth tones and organic hues. However, these works continue to exhibit the artist’s signature optical surfaces composed of superimposed stylized forms that give the illusion of depth and movement. The carefully cultivated line of Katano’s gestural mark is wielded energetically, resulting in a spontaneous yet refined feeling to the work. While reflective of nature, this imagery is specifically inspired by the simple black-and-white lines of Kanji characters, and the resulting works are evocative of traditional Japanese painting.
Richard Avedon, Dawoud Bey, Todd Hido, Yasumasa Morimura, Laurel Nakadate, Jack Pierson, Alec Soth, Larry Sultan, and Katherine Wolkoff.
This varied and eclectic selection of contemporary photographic works in the format of the traditional portrait bust was purposefully chosen for the head and shoulders presentation of the subject in a studio environment or other non-referential place. Whether formally posed, snapshot-like, taken from video stills, or rendered using digital means, the works included take a close-up and unflinching examination of the subject, delving into the complexity and psychology of facial expression. Subjects include recognizable figures, anonymous individuals, and the artists themselves.
Included in the exhibition is Richard Avedon’s mesmerizing portrait of Francis Bacon. Avedon described Bacon’s pose in the portrait as “a perfect performance.” Other works included are: a signature triptych portrait by Dawoud Bey revealing three views of the subjects face; a work from Todd Hido’s previously unseen portrait series of women photographed in motel rooms; Yasumasa Morimura’s Picasso-based self portrait as Sylvette; Jack Pierson’s 1997 portrait titled Ed O’Toole, 19th St., a provocative image that features one of his letter-based installations; a work from Alec Soth’s new series of portraits; Larry Sultan’s confrontational Woman in Curlers from The Valley series; a self-portrait video still from We Are All Made of Stars by New York-based artist Laurel Nakadate who is currently exhibiting in PS1’s Greater New York exhibition; and a gorgeous silhouette photograph by New York based artist Katherine Wolkoff.
Also on display at Stephen Wirtz Gallery: New paintings by Marc Katano.
Katano’s recent canvases reveal the artist’s preoccupation with the mark-making process and the opportunities it provides for the creation of a controlled, ordered, and coherent form of invented imagery. The paintings are composed of a matrix of repeated and layered ellipses reduced to their linear outline and rendered in a limited palette of black, white, and gray. The form resembles a collapsed pair of parentheses and is the natural “C” and “D” movement of the arm and wrist, the artist’s calligraphic stroke.
The leaf-shape is a recognizable theme in Katano’s work and the new paintings demonstrate a significant departure from earlier explorations of this form, previously rendered with earth tones and organic hues. However, these works continue to exhibit the artist’s signature optical surfaces composed of superimposed stylized forms that give the illusion of depth and movement. The carefully cultivated line of Katano’s gestural mark is wielded energetically, resulting in a spontaneous yet refined feeling to the work. While reflective of nature, this imagery is specifically inspired by the simple black-and-white lines of Kanji characters, and the resulting works are evocative of traditional Japanese painting.
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This varied and eclectic selection of contemporary photographic works in the format of the traditional portrait bust was purposefully chosen for the head and shoulders presentation of the subject in a studio environment or other non-referential place. Whether formally posed, snapshot-like, taken from video stills, or rendered using digital means, the works included take a close-up and unflinching examination of the subject, delving into the complexity and psychology of facial expression. Subjects include recognizable figures, anonymous individuals, and the artists themselves.
Included in the exhibition is Richard Avedon’s mesmerizing portrait of Francis Bacon. Avedon described Bacon’s pose in the portrait as “a perfect performance.” Other works included are: a signature triptych portrait by Dawoud Bey revealing three views of the subjects face; a work from Todd Hido’s previously unseen portrait series of women photographed in motel rooms; Yasumasa Morimura’s Picasso-based self portrait as Sylvette; Jack Pierson’s 1997 portrait titled Ed O’Toole, 19th St., a provocative image that features one of his letter-based installations; a work from Alec Soth’s new series of portraits; Larry Sultan’s confrontational Woman in Curlers from The Valley series; a self-portrait video still from We Are All Made of Stars by New York-based artist Laurel Nakadate who is currently exhibiting in PS1’s Greater New York exhibition; and a gorgeous silhouette photograph by New York based artist Katherine Wolkoff.
Also on display at Stephen Wirtz Gallery: New paintings by Marc Katano.
Katano’s recent canvases reveal the artist’s preoccupation with the mark-making process and the opportunities it provides for the creation of a controlled, ordered, and coherent form of invented imagery. The paintings are composed of a matrix of repeated and layered ellipses reduced to their linear outline and rendered in a limited palette of black, white, and gray. The form resembles a collapsed pair of parentheses and is the natural “C” and “D” movement of the arm and wrist, the artist’s calligraphic stroke.
The leaf-shape is a recognizable theme in Katano’s work and the new paintings demonstrate a significant departure from earlier explorations of this form, previously rendered with earth tones and organic hues. However, these works continue to exhibit the artist’s signature optical surfaces composed of superimposed stylized forms that give the illusion of depth and movement. The carefully cultivated line of Katano’s gestural mark is wielded energetically, resulting in a spontaneous yet refined feeling to the work. While reflective of nature, this imagery is specifically inspired by the simple black-and-white lines of Kanji characters, and the resulting works are evocative of traditional Japanese painting.
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