Gandalf Gaván "Art"
Larissa Goldston Gallery
This event has ended.
Larissa Goldston Gallery presents Art, the third solo exhibition in New York of work by Gandalf Gaván.
The exhibition consists of two bodies of work – assemblages and tablets – that betray influences as diverse as John McCracken, Barnett Newman, Dan Flavin, cave painting and ancient artifacts. Although both series address Post-Minimalist concerns in differing ways, they each draw on ideas surrounding the origins of art and imply a dialogue between painting, sculpture and architecture. The assemblages utilize the visual language of Minimalism, but reveal the facture of the artist’s hand. Similarly, the cast aluminum tablets address the history of writing and drawing as well as translation and transcription, yet embrace the simulacral nature of the object itself.
Created in the artist’s studio in Oaxaca, Mexico, the large scale canvases incorporated in the assemblages were made in collaboration with local artisans from Teotitlån del Valle, a small village just East of Oaxaca known for its textiles, using traditional Mexican techniques. The locals treated the canvases with gypsum, then lime tinted with earth pigments, using nopal (cactus) juice to bind the medium. As a final step, Gaván burnished the surface of the works using plastic bags. Once completed he incorporated elements of neon, glass, and nylon rope creating vibrant and dynamic sculptures that toy with light and perception. The matte, absorptive nature of the paintings juxtaposed with highly reflective surfaces of glass and mirror evoke architectural structures, referencing both Zapotec temples and contemporary urban landscapes.
Inspired by cave paintings and carved tablets that Gaván saw while in Mexico, the “tablets” are an extension of his paintings on Styrofoam. The chemical reaction between the paint and Styrofoam erodes the surface, creating a bas relief which is then cast in molten aluminum—preserving and transforming these otherwise ephemeral works.
Media
Schedule
from May 18, 2012 to July 06, 2012
Opening Reception on 2012-05-18 from 18:00 to 20:00