EXHIBITIONS Anthony Pearson's sculptures and photographs are, on the one hand, records of a studio practice dedicated to non-representational mark-making and the pursuit of free aesthetic movement; on the other, they are the elements of a vocabulary designed to systematize the irrational and inexplicable facets of artistic endeavor. For the first time, Pearson has created large-scale steel sculptures whose forms are derived from two of these photographs. Compositions originally made with ink and brush have undergone a complete alchemical transformation, passing through the photographic process to become templates for three-dimensional objects in space. Until now, photography has served as a way to create conceptual distance between the act of making non-representational compositions and the act of displaying them in the context of other artworks. Here, however, photographs have been cycled back through the studio practice, and have led to an expansion of physical scale, the adaptation of new technical procedures, and
increased conceptual reach. Corresponding developments can be seen in new examples of Pearson's trademark 'arrangements', which combine photographic elements with bronze sculptures made from castings. The 'arrangements' are powerful examples of instances in which Pearson applies curatorial logic to the results of idiosyncratic, even hermetic, processes. The relationship between the pictorial and the physical is also explored in a series of small bronze wall-based sculptures. Created using molds made from shaped clay forms, these works mark the first time that Pearson has hung objects directly on the wall, as well as the first time that he has exhibited bronzes without photographs.The work is not only a study of the alchemical relationships between materials, but an ongoing record of competing forces at play in the studio. As such, Pearson's practice represents the furthering of a tradition exemplified by figures as diverse as John Cage, Jackson Pollock and Bruce Nauman, one based in both pragmatic and rigorous experimentation.
Luis Cornejo paints with cheek. He dons pretty young things with Mickey Mouse ears, tails, clownish caps and surrealistically long hands, marring their exquisite beauty. By using slapstick and coarse distortion, Cornejo challenges our idea of perfect beauty and our tedious worship of it. Cornejo has had sold out many shows and has exhibited individually and collectively in Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Mexico, Canada and Germany. His work continues to take off, with a one year paid scholarship
in Berlin and top awards from the Museum of Art of El Salvador. Wedding pop and
hyperrealism, Andriy Halashyn’s dystopic dreamscapes juxtapose moneyed beauty with ruin, waste and contamination. His canvases tell a tale of two cities in the optic language of a deadpan and painterly pop. Ukranian born but living and working in Costa Rica for over ten years, Halashyn brings a cosmopolitan sensibility to his lush paintings.
For more than 40 years, Olivier Mosset has challenged the historical notion of painting as an art object. Beginning with his involvement in B.M.P.T. (a Paris-based group of painters active during the mid-1960s consisting of Daniel Buren, Mosset, Michel Parmentier, and Niele Toroni), Mosset sought to question authorship and democratize art through "radical procedures of deskilling". As each artist became identified with a specific composition, the members of the group would then sign each other's work thus calling into question the origi-
nality of the painting. Following his affiliation with B.M.P.T., Mosset has become a pivotal figure in artistic practices spanning monochrome, abstract and 'Neo-Geo' painting. By employing variations on color, size, paint application, format and the stretch of the canvas, Mosset has continued questioning the preconceived notions of what constitutes a painting. Collaboration remains an integral aspect to his practice. For this exhibition Mosset will collaborate with Vincent Szarek and Jeffrey Schad by exhibiting their custom motorcycles.
Anthony Pearson David Kordansky Los Angeles [through Feb 5]
Anthony Pearson, Untitled (Transmission), 2010, steel, patina, sandblasted white Portland cement, 81” x 70” x 30” unique.
Luis Cornejo and Andriy Halashyn
SALT Laguna Beach [through Feb 28]
Andriy Halashyn. Baby Garbage, 2010, oil on canvas, 39.5”x32”.
Olivier Mosset
Christopher Grimes Santa Monica [through Mar 5]
Jeffrey Schad, Rootbeer Bike, 2004, custom. 96 in3.
Exhibitions
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