A group of four artists Kirstin Arndt (GER), Leonardo Drew (USA), James Hyde (USA), Paul Mosse (IRL), will be exhibiting at Green On Red Gallery in an exhibition entitled Material Pleasures. This show, which is curated by Molly Sullivan, explores how these artists - often through an obsessive and rigorous manipulation of found objects and everyday materials question the conventions of 'looking' that we bring to works of art. In particular these works often present conflicting or overlapping experiences for the viewer. They each acknowledge that the act of looking is typically an intersection of understanding what the work is physically comprised of, while simultaneously bringing a personal experience and memory to the act of giving the work meaning - or not. From Arndt's installations of packing boxes and tape and wall drawings of yarn; to Drew's vitrines of glass with enclosed fetishistic paper sculptures and Baroque paintings made from rust pigments; through to Hyde's assemblages of glass, and packing web, and tempera and styrofoam paintings; to Mosse's sculptural accretions of sawdust, glue, acrylic and paint, each has an immediate and provocative physical presence. Yet with passion, humour, obsession, and beauty they also suggest conceptual disclaimers are part and parcel of the viewing process.A group of four artists Kirstin Arndt (GER), Leonardo Drew (USA), James Hyde (USA), Paul Mosse (IRL), will be exhibiting at Green On Red Gallery in an exhibition entitled Material Pleasures. This show, which is curated by Molly Sullivan, explores how these artists - often through an obsessive and rigorous manipulation of found objects and everyday materials question the conventions of 'looking' that we bring to works of art. In particular these works often present conflicting or overlapping experiences for the viewer. They each acknowledge that the act of looking is typically an intersection of understanding what the work is physically comprised of, while simultaneously bringing a personal experience and memory to the act of giving the work meaning - or not. From Arndt's installations of packing boxes and tape and wall drawings of yarn; to Drew's vitrines of glass with enclosed fetishistic paper sculptures and Baroque paintings made from rust pigments; through to Hyde's assemblages of glass, and packing web, and tempera and styrofoam paintings; to Mosse's sculptural accretions of sawdust, glue, acrylic and paint, each has an immediate and provocative physical presence. Yet with passion, humour, obsession, and beauty they also suggest conceptual disclaimers are part and parcel of the viewing process.
The works heighten our awareness of the gallery as a stage from which each piece enacts a specific drama. Depending entirely upon our reading of the materials used and our expectations of what we think we should see, each artist's work offers the viewer paths of possible discovery. These artists all hold in common an obsession with the art-making process and the de-stabilizing and ultimately seductive effect this has on our understanding of their work.
With thanks to Galerie Michael Sturm, Stuttgart, Galerie Les Filles Du Calvaire, Paris, Kirstin Arndt, Leonardo Drew, James Hyde, and Paul Mosse.