Cristóbal Lehyt “Iris Sheets II: This Time It’s Personal”
Johannes Vogt Gallery
This event has ended.
Johannes Vogt Gallery presents the second solo exhibition of Cristóbal Lehyt. The show, linked to his current exhibition “Iris Sheets” at Americas Society New York, will present the newest manifestations of the Drama Projection series, including acrylic on polyester, wall painting and pencil or inkpen on paper. For the first time, a survey of the original drawings will be displayed, allowing a comprehensive understanding of the process entailed in the series.
The Drama Projection series expands on the topic of re-staging identity, figuration, and drama in opposition to narrative. Original figurative drawings are created through quick visual responses and repetition. Through mediated processes, the traditional human subject is altered into a series of repeatable signs. These signs gain meaning through translation into a range of media, such as crayon drawings, inkjet prints, paintings, and drawings executed directly on the wall.
For this second exhibition at the gallery, Lehyt places the figures of the Drama Projection series within a group of large-scale paintings on polyester that are presented unstretched and floating on the wall. In these works, mysterious figures appear born out of fluorescence echoing several moments in the development of an individual, from child night lights to party decorations. Within the structured gallery space, the strange effects of these neon colors take on a seemingly narrative structure that is estranged from any specific plot: actors in different stages. Among the paintings is a single drawing executed directly on the wall, appearing as an image but embedding itself into the architecture.
In the rear gallery, an extensive selection of original drawings dating from 2003 to today amplifies the vivid contrast between form and space. The selection of drawings – both the source material from which these figures are reproduced, as well as crayon etchings – span the last decade of the artist’s production.
The Drama Projection series evolves into a theatrical stage engaging the viewer’s psychological self. In this theatrical positioning, and by investing in the historical and visual weight of painting-as-medium, the presentation questions what painting can be now, what possibilities the discourse of painting allows for a meaningful connection with its audience.
Cristóbal Lehyt was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1973. He lives and works in New York. His work has been shown internationally, including the Kunstlerhaus Stuttgart, the Shanghai Biennale, the Mercosul Biennial, the Queens Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Lehyt currently teaches both at Cooper Union and Parsons, New York. He has been awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and the Art Forum Fellowship from Harvard University. Lehyt is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Santiago, Chile. His solo exhibition Iris Sheets is currently on view at the Americas Society, New York through December 14.
Media
Schedule
from November 21, 2013 to December 19, 2013
Opening Reception on 2013-11-21 from 18:00 to 20:00