>>PREVIEW
BLACK AND WHITE
Runs until September 16
Paul Kuhn Gallery
"I know for a fact, my Mom and Dad would not be interested in this stuff," says Geoff Hunter of Paul Kuhn Gallery. Entitled Black & White, this summer’s installation pays homage to non-representational art and artists who work in black and white. Featured artists in the group show include Conrad Ouchi, Mark Mullin, Pierre Rene Alain and Guido Molinari.
Usually described as minimalist art, the geometric forms and stark delineations between the black and negative space on a canvas, or the vexingly simple complexity of the sculptures featured in the show, minimalism has confused audiences and challenged critics since the movement’s birth in the 1960s. In the early experimental phase, minimalist art was criticized as "elitist, futile and authoritarian," with some early critics declaring the movement an outright fraud. Although it would be straining the definition of this installation as a minimalist exhibition, in the public sphere, labels are easy to grasp without context.
"This art is about process," says Hunter. "How is it made? The three dimensional presence on the canvas invites you to use your imagination – the person’s imagination is integral to understanding. When it comes to the works of someone like Molinari, you would think that he was a romantic painter."
Black & White is more than simple geometry. The diverse show blends elements of Op-Art. Conrad Ouchi’s oil, when observed from a distance is a checkered sphere, uniform and perfect, but when viewed up close reveals subtle flaws, brushstrokes and textures that bring the focus on the event of the creation of art.
Quebec artist Guido Molinari’s prints demand the audience play with the concept of objects in space, without any clues of "what it should be," and leaving room for people to imagine "what it could be."
Stripped of metaphor, the images in Black and White are created for immediate visual impact. They are expressions of perfection, which reveal subtle flaws that extend the eye beyond the borders.
Two sculptures by Pierre Rene Alain and Alex Caldwell depart from the visual context of sculpture and demand the use of the other senses for interpretation. Visually counterbalancing a variety of geometric forms onto a single pedestal, the forms appear to defy physics – Caldwell has his audience look at a large, solid-steel object that actually seems to become weightless in the mind of the observer. By extension (pardon the pun), Pierre Rene Alain’s carapaces are uniquely formed to blur the distinctions of paintings and the dimensions they create on the wall. A mixed media piece, painted black, forces the seeker to form their own opinion of what a painting can become, and what a sculpture can become if forced to occupy the same conceptual space.
An honest appraisal of art involves an open mind. This is not a show for the easily intimidated, or for art goers who prefer accessibility to be proffered from the works. Ad Reinhardt, conceptual art pioneer, described minimalism this way: "The more stuff in it, the busier the work of art, the worse it is. More is less. Less is more. The eye is a menace to clear sight." If you want a challenge, it’s right there in front of you in Black & White. |
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