PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
A ≠ A
Sept. 27 – Nov. 24, 2013
Opening Reception: September 27th, 6-9pm
‘Purity in art consists in the acceptance, willing acceptance, of the limitations of the medium of the specific art… It is by virtue of its medium that each art is unique and strictly itself. To restore the identity of an art the opacity of its medium must be emphasized...’ –Clement Greenberg, excerpt from ‘Towards a Newer Laocoon’ (1940)
In 1940, war and the global political climate had left the world in chaos. In that same year Clement Greenberg offered what he proposed as the theoretical basis for society’s growing penchant for abstract art: its inexorable historical imperative as prefaced in the aesthetic developments of the 20th century avant-garde, compounded by its opportunity for ‘disinterested contemplation.’ Claiming medium specificity—‘purity’—as the founding principle of the new art historical canon, Greenberg effectively launched what would become the modus operandi for the following two decades of American artistic exploration. Painters were to work with paint, sculptors with sculpture; paint was to remain true to the shape and flatness of its support, the canvas, and sculpture to the innate materiality of its medium of choice. Differentiating itself from all other cultural spheres, art’s ‘purity’ was to be its own savior, as well as ours.
In the 70 years since, the artworld has witnessed an outright rejection of such paradigmatic thought, exploding the lines between painting, sculpture and performance, photography, video and digital art. If, as Greenberg stated, “abstract art like every other cultural phenomenon reflects the social and other circumstances of the age in which its creators live,” purity, it seems, was not the answer.
Mere opposition, however, has also proved too easy.
As history realigns itself with the increasingly complex nature of art’s (and our) subject/object relations, such outdated methodologies may no longer serve—but that does not mean they cease to be convincing teachers. If we are to orient ourselves to the past, to form a connection to historical perspective without being confined by it, the development of a third approach is required.
A ≠ A brings together painting, sculpture and what exists in the intermediary space occupied by formalism’s medium-specific parameters in an attempt to explore this new horizon. Highlighting the slippage between object and support, frame and wall, formal structure and conceptual premise, the work of these three artists suggests not so much the ahistorical refusal of formalist principles as an alternative historical trajectory (A ≠ A), one in which perimeters and boundaries are more loosely defined. As mediating actors between ‘old’ and ‘new,’ these works speak to our need for a less ordered worldview: Glenn Garver shatters the illusion of Ab-Ex ‘purity’ with his unconventional use of spray paint and found material; Carolyn Salas consistently corrupts the painterly support with her highly-keyed ceramic and plaster formulations; while acting as airy reminders of progressive reform, Doreen McCarthy’s inflatable soft sculptures playfully undermine the medium’s traditionally rigid material associations.
In the utilization of these gaps a new dialogue emerges, moving us beyond Modernism’s limiting threshold and into the present – a moment as confused as it is clear, and all the more vibrant for its stubborn lack of resolution.
- Kara L. Rooney, curator
Panepinto Galleries was founded by Stephanie Panepinto in 2011 as a collective space to host gallery exhibitions, film screenings, theatrical performances, and photo shoots, as well as build a community of artists. Located in the heart of the Powerhouse Arts District in Jersey City, the 3500 square foot warehouse space includes 14' ceilings, elevator, a loading dock, and convenient access for private and public transportation.
For further information, please contact the gallery: art@panepintogalleries.com
A ≠ A
Sept. 27 – Nov. 24, 2013
Opening Reception: September 27th, 6-9pm
‘Purity in art consists in the acceptance, willing acceptance, of the limitations of the medium of the specific art… It is by virtue of its medium that each art is unique and strictly itself. To restore the identity of an art the opacity of its medium must be emphasized...’ –Clement Greenberg, excerpt from ‘Towards a Newer Laocoon’ (1940)
In 1940, war and the global political climate had left the world in chaos. In that same year Clement Greenberg offered what he proposed as the theoretical basis for society’s growing penchant for abstract art: its inexorable historical imperative as prefaced in the aesthetic developments of the 20th century avant-garde, compounded by its opportunity for ‘disinterested contemplation.’ Claiming medium specificity—‘purity’—as the founding principle of the new art historical canon, Greenberg effectively launched what would become the modus operandi for the following two decades of American artistic exploration. Painters were to work with paint, sculptors with sculpture; paint was to remain true to the shape and flatness of its support, the canvas, and sculpture to the innate materiality of its medium of choice. Differentiating itself from all other cultural spheres, art’s ‘purity’ was to be its own savior, as well as ours.
In the 70 years since, the artworld has witnessed an outright rejection of such paradigmatic thought, exploding the lines between painting, sculpture and performance, photography, video and digital art. If, as Greenberg stated, “abstract art like every other cultural phenomenon reflects the social and other circumstances of the age in which its creators live,” purity, it seems, was not the answer.
Mere opposition, however, has also proved too easy.
As history realigns itself with the increasingly complex nature of art’s (and our) subject/object relations, such outdated methodologies may no longer serve—but that does not mean they cease to be convincing teachers. If we are to orient ourselves to the past, to form a connection to historical perspective without being confined by it, the development of a third approach is required.
A ≠ A brings together painting, sculpture and what exists in the intermediary space occupied by formalism’s medium-specific parameters in an attempt to explore this new horizon. Highlighting the slippage between object and support, frame and wall, formal structure and conceptual premise, the work of these three artists suggests not so much the ahistorical refusal of formalist principles as an alternative historical trajectory (A ≠ A), one in which perimeters and boundaries are more loosely defined. As mediating actors between ‘old’ and ‘new,’ these works speak to our need for a less ordered worldview: Glenn Garver shatters the illusion of Ab-Ex ‘purity’ with his unconventional use of spray paint and found material; Carolyn Salas consistently corrupts the painterly support with her highly-keyed ceramic and plaster formulations; while acting as airy reminders of progressive reform, Doreen McCarthy’s inflatable soft sculptures playfully undermine the medium’s traditionally rigid material associations.
In the utilization of these gaps a new dialogue emerges, moving us beyond Modernism’s limiting threshold and into the present – a moment as confused as it is clear, and all the more vibrant for its stubborn lack of resolution.
- Kara L. Rooney, curator
Panepinto Galleries was founded by Stephanie Panepinto in 2011 as a collective space to host gallery exhibitions, film screenings, theatrical performances, and photo shoots, as well as build a community of artists. Located in the heart of the Powerhouse Arts District in Jersey City, the 3500 square foot warehouse space includes 14' ceilings, elevator, a loading dock, and convenient access for private and public transportation.
For further information, please contact the gallery: art@panepintogalleries.com