Review of "Some" at Larry Becker Contemporary Art

Some Old, Some New, Some Blue

“Some”
Larry Becker Contemporary Art
43 North Second Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106
June – August 2007
(215) 925-5389
www.artnet.com/lbecker.html

“SOME” is a show of selected works at Larry Becker Contemporary Art running from June through August. This exhibition presents work from artists that have shown previously at Larry Becker as well as a sneak preview of three artists that are new to the gallery: Andrew Graham, Howard Smith, and Mel Davis. The title implies selection more than a theme, offering a glimpse into the curatorial decisions. The show presents a good group of mostly vertical paintings with a couple of standouts.

From its temporary home on the wall adjacent to the front window, the numerous vibrant thin vertical color strips of Thrum, 2006, by Andrew Graham is charged with the task of enticing passers-by to want to enter. Once inside, the visitor is greeted by familiar white gallery walls, a beautiful creaky wooden floor, slightly warm light, and a small rustic, wooden table with sign-in book, copies of the exhibition checklist and the Inquirer review “Handsome and Adventuresome” by Edith Newhall. The table makes the transition from the creaky linearity of the floorboards drawing one into the room and directing the viewer to the white painted wooden piece above, Do-Whitey, 1998 by Jim Lee.

Lee’s little, thoroughly considered wall sculpture is a great transition that ties the minimalist art objects to the well-worn context of the gallery architecture. Assembled from small sections of heavy stretcher bars and painted in slightly different tones of white, the piece is evocative of simple, well-used wooden furniture. Its intended chips, exposed wood grain, and forms that recall dovetail and other woodworking joints along with subtle surface elements make it one of the most complex works in the show. Do-Whitey is perfectly at home above the table, fulfilling an important function of guiding the viewer from the table into the rest of the show.

Moving to the right, we encounter Venetian Red by Howard Smith. A small, rectangular, monochromatic canvas evidences a glacially slow build-up of paint by the artist creating a varied texture. Creaking as I step, the well-worn floor begins to reveal red paint that is similar in color to Smith’s painting but with its own broken texture. The placement of this work energizes it providing Venetian Red additional time to have its say.

The following several works clearly belong together as the body of the show having similar scale, vertical orientation, and cool colors. Mel Davis’ six-panel painting Dominion, 2006 cools the warm room with tertiary iterations of blue and yellow along with black and white. Smooth like tiles for an idyllic modern kitchen that are too perfect to be physically stood upon, they offer beautiful composure and assuredness. The cool tones continue in steady rhythm with Marcia Hafif’s blue and yellow and blue and magenta paintings and John Zurier’s monochromatic soft blue gesture painting, which is evocative of water, clouds, vapor and action painting. The many-layered acrylic monochrome paintings on linen of Androgyne 1, 2 and 3 by Jon Poblador display a high level of control by precisely painting numerous layers of acrylic paint leaving a quarter inch margin of raw canvas. The edges make me want to grab a corner and carefully peel the plastic layer off. Next are three small paintings by Howard Smith, the smallest in the show, possesses a similar texture result via meticulous brushwork as his Venetian Red. The top two are engaging small paintings with similar sensibilities to Venetian Red while the third positioned beneath them seems to know its subordinance.

Finished with the interior of the exhibition, we return to Andrew Graham and his colorful Thrum which seems both cooler and more active now in contrast to the other works. Thrum is an energetic painting with its charged colors and tight composition of vertical lines that hum like some strange electrical component that defies its static nature as a painting.

“Some” feels comfortable in the first room of Larry Becker Contemporary Art. The arrangements of works may direct viewers too quickly through an exhibit that needs you to slow down to experience the work. This show does a good job of presenting a selection of their new artists along side a few of their other artists. Hopefully this is a preview of an even stronger selection of works to come later this year.

Thesis Abstract

Platonic Ideal, Plein Air Painting, and Prisoners

Notes on Thesis Precedents for Conceptual Art

Early in the paper, I will write briefly about the writings of Sol LeWitt, specifically his “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art” and “Sentences on Conceptual Art,” in order to set the stage for what has become the definitions of this form of artwork. I will similarly touch on the ideas of art by Plato who presented the reasoning behind object and image based art. LeWitt and Plato will help set the terms of the ideas behind my discussion. I will address the origins of plein air painting and its practice in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Significant artists to my argument include Hendrik Terbrugghen, the Brill brothers, Claude Lorrain, John Constable, and the Barbizon school. Other topics include the beginnings of easle painting and its contribution to portable artwork and landscape painting leading into plein air painting. I am also interested in wrting about parallel practices that parallel practices that are not considered art. These practices may include the art of prisoners and the instituionallized, Australian Aboriginal walkabouts, travel Manuscripts, and early descriptive topographical art. Each of these subjects has a long history. I see my work as a contribution to this long history and these are among the precedents for my art practice.

The roots of my practice go back to ancient times. The idea of the Platonic Ideal is contemporary in its relevance to my art beliefs. The spatial and temporal issues addressed by plein air painters have been a source of guidance in my work. Finally, the products of non-art or magnialized art practice speak to the value of my art process as a mannr to locate the self. I am attracted to making artwork that is an exploration into the interactions and small influences between artist, materials, and environmental context through the production of modest, anti-virtuosic objects representing a visually quantified subjective experience.

I will describe how my work functions writing about its use as a document for experience in a space over a period of time. I will describe how the ideas of interaction with materials, portability, and spatial context were used to locate oneself. I will relate to my work through the work of the types of artwork and parallel practices listed above. I will mention specific artworks I have done in order to relate my work to the subjects being discussed.

I will write about artists who have been recently creating artwork that is in dialog with the principles discussed in my thesis. I will mention current artists working in a similar practice such as Richard Long, On Kawara, and Wolfgang Laib. I hope to begin a discussion regarding the importance of earlier art and non-art practices that inform the development of contemporary conceptually driven experiential artworks.

Exhibition Proposal

• Title of Exhibition
• “Transitional Space, Access and Surrogates”
• Location
• Philadelphia Museum of Art special exhibits room or commercial gallery space.
• Participants
• Museum visitors.
• Variety of local artists and museum directors and staff.
• Description of Proposal
• Museum or gallery directors are responsible for the look and feel of the Waiting Room. No artwork or reproductions of artwork are allowed in the Waiting Room.
• Each artist is assigned a Consultation Room before the exhibition. The artist is responsible for the look and feel of his or her room. This will be that artist’s space for the duration of the show. No artwork or reproductions of artwork are allowed in the Consultation Rooms.
• The Registration Desk will be in the Waiting Room. Museum personnel should staff the Registration Desk.
• Artists must schedule the days and hours they will be available. Each artist must sign in at the registration desk before each shift and sign out at the end of each shift.
• Visitors should sign in at the registration desk. They will be given a consultation with the first available artist. Visitors can wait until his or her name is called. Visitors will then be directed to a Consultation Room.
• The artist is tasked with being the surrogate for his or her art. The artist has the responsibility of helping the visitors to understand or experience the artist’s art in a space without artwork or images of artwork. The artist may decorate or alter the interior space of the room so long as it does not become an artwork.
• The artist or visitor can decide when the consultation is over.

Artist Resume

Nathan Reinhold
visibleink@yahoo.com
mysite.verizon.net/nathanr525/index.html

EDUCATION

• Candidate MFA in Painting. The University of the Arts. Philadelphia, PA.
  Anticipated graduation Dec. 2007.
• Candidate Masters of Art Teaching. The University of the Arts. Philadelphia, PA. Anticipated graduation May 2008.
• BFA. University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI. 1997.

EXHIBITIONS

2007 The University of the Arts Bookstore. Philadelphia, PA.
2006 “The University of the Arts W.I.P. Show.” Aronson Gallery. Philadelphia, PA.
2005 “The University of the Arts W.I.P. Show.” Hamilton Gallery. Philadelphia, PA.
2003 Cavistons Café. Narberth, PA.
2002 Giant Steps Framing and Gallery. Philadelphia, PA. and Manayunk, PA.
2001 Savior Faire. Madison, WI.
2000 “Things Covered in Paint.” Commonwealth Art Gallery. Madison, WI.
1999 Bon Appetit Café. Madison, WI. (solo show).
1998 New York International Film and Video Festival. New York, NY.
1997 “Advanced Painting Studio Show.” 7^th Floor Gallery. University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.
1996 “Advanced Painting Studio Show.” 7^th Floor Gallery. University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.
1995 “67^th Annual Student Art Show.” University of Wisconsin. Porter Butts Gallery. Madison, WI.
1994 “Sellery Hall Arts Show.” University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.
Café Assisi Group Show. Madison, WI.

EXPERIENCE

• “Things Covered in Paint.” Commonwealth Art Gallery. Self produced exhibition. Madison, WI. 2000.
• Illustration published in the Wisconsin Bankers Association published The Pundit. Feb. 2000.
• Illustration published in the Wisconsin Bankers Association published The Pundit. Dec. 1999.
• Illustration published in Wisconsin Banking Digest. Dec. 1999.
• Illustrations for a children’s book, “The Piezoelectric Effect.” Madison, WI. 1999.
• Paint backgrounds for Photo Express. Madison, WI. 1998.
• Assistant Painter of the Stoughton Heritage Mural. Stoughton, WI. 1997.
• Illustrations published in University of Wisconsin student newspaper The Daily Cardinal. 1995.
• Organized the “Sellery Hall Arts Show,” at the University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI. 1994.

AWARDS

2007 The University of the Arts Merit Scholarship. Philadelphia, PA.
2006 The University of the Arts Merit Scholarship. Philadelphia, PA.
2005 The University of the Arts Merit Scholarship. Philadelphia, PA.
1997 Dean’s List. University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.
1996 Dean’s List. University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.
1995 Dean’s List. University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.
1994 Dean’s List. University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.
1993 Dean’s List. University of Wisconsin. Madison, WI.
Academic Excellence Scholarship.
Salutatorian. Waunakee High School. Waunakee, WI.

Artist Statement

My grids represent the compartmentalization of civilization reflecting prescribed apportioned locations for living, working, and culture. Repetitive hand-drawn lines become a record of an investigative experience within a world of systems both natural and synthetic. Each mark represents a descriptive unit of time. The sum of the marks is a unique visual record: the art action. These modest, anti-virtuosic objects are a contrast to a hyper-visual culture. Instead these works are concerned with time, subtle variation, and small influences. The characteristics and limitations of materials from the art supply store: pre-folded canvas and drawing materials with a predetermined color selection affect the look of the final object. Materials, environment, and artist all influence each other on objective and subjective levels. The end result is an easily transportable object, which does not exist in a preserved ideal state. They are continually updated with each opening and refolding, further recording the interactions between the material and user.

Biographical Statement

Nathan Reinhold was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1975. He earned a B.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Nathan is both a MFA in Painting and a Master in Art Teaching candidate at the University of the Arts. A painter with interests in sculpture, installation, performance and conceptual art, his themes include the materials of art, audience participation, and the effects of context in the making and viewing of art. His art objects exist as evidence of art making experience through the interactions between artist, materials, and environment. He has organized both group and solo exhibitions having shown in Madison, New York, and Philadelphia. Nathan lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two cats.