Cindy Wright's large-scale portraits and still-lifes embrace oppositions, the distance between which might be crossed in a few steps or might be too blurry to even define. Jason Salavon's work employs self-scripted computer programs to process and reconfigure data gleaned from an all-encompassing cultural panorama.
Cindy Wright
Mark Moore Gallery is pleased to present new paintings from Belgian artist Cindy
Wright. Wright's large-scale portraits and still-lifes embrace oppositions, the
distance between which might be crossed in a few steps or might be too blurry to
even define. Wright forces her viewer to scrutinize often-unconsidered yet vital
minutia; skin, fat, ripples in fabric or internal organs. Yet her claustrophobic
focus offers a false intimacy; in order for the images to remain recognizable, the
viewer must remain at a distance; upon closer inspection the canvas pleasingly
dissolves into a collection of abstract brushstrokes. Paradoxically, despite this
painterly presence, her use of photographs as source material strips her works of
any tenderness. They retain a detached and sterile quality, their function a
clinical observation. Nevertheless Wright's work displays no awkwardness on behalf
of these conundrums; rather her canvases are effortless displays of art historical
awareness, their
solemn beauty at once familiar and disquietingly innovative.
[There] is a special sort of thrill to that moment when, stepping back from a
canvas, a seemingly chaotic mass of brushstrokes crystallizes suddenly into a crisp,
recognizable image.
Holly Myers
Cindy Wright received her MFA from the Royal Academy for Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium
and has completed postgraduate studies at the Higher Institute for Fine Arts, also
in Antwerp, Belgium. She has exhibited widely throughout Europe and within the
United States, including a solo show at the Las Vegas Art Museum, NV. Her work has
been met critical acclaim with reviews in the Los Angeles Times, to give an example.
Last year Wright won the AON prize. This will be Wright's second solo show at the
Mark Moore Gallery. She lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
In the Project Room:
Jason Salavon
Mark Moore Gallery is pleased to present new work in the project room from acclaimed
artist Jason Salavon. Salavon's work employs self-scripted computer programs to
process and reconfigure data gleaned from an all-encompassing cultural panorama. The
resulting works range from transubstantiations of intangible statistics into visual
abstractions, to literal depictions of the homogenizing effect of an inundation of
images. By not committing to any particular source, Salavon's work serves to
highlight the larger implications of how information is produced and processed
rather than critiquing any given subject matter. Although Salavon's reordering of
information is technically entirely objective, the works produced are anything but
neutral. Simply through reformatting, Salavon prompts the viewer to consider a
multitude of questions. Although the answers may remain beyond our reach, we cannot
help but feel that - through the act of questioning alone - we are better equipped
to tac
kle a culture consumed by an excess of unedited information.
Poised between contemporary mass culture and the history of art, and between
painterly expressionism and the raw data of digital source material and computer
code, Salavon's work is a significant achievement.
Joe Hill
Jason Salavon received his MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in
Chicago, IL, where he now lives and works. He has exhibited his work extensively
throughout the United States and internationally, included shows at Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, CA and the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, IL. His work is
included in numerous prestigious public collections; LACMA, The Whitney Museum of
American Art, NY, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and The Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston, TX, to name but a few. This solo exhibition will be Salavon's first at the
Mark Moore Gallery.
Image: Cindy Wright
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 1st, 5-7pm
Mark Moore Gallery
2525 Michigan Avenue - Santa Monica
Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10 – 6 pm, Saturday 11- 5pm
Free admission