Anti-Anti/Non-Non (part 2)

HAL BROMM
Presents a two part group exhibition curated by Fran Holstrom

Anti-Anti / Non-Non

April 30 – May 27 / June 3 – July 2
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 3rd, 6-9pm

New York, NY “Anti-Anti / Non-Non” is inspired by Ad Reinhardt’s playful poem “On Negation” which explores how one can define the inconceivable through a series of subtractions, ultimately reducing what [it] is through what [it] is NOT. Fifty-some years after Ad Reinhardt made the “last paintings” artists find themselves in an age of pluralism where anything goes. This two-part exhibition explores the work of contemporary artists who re- shape our vision of what art is and can become.

“Non-Non”, presents artists whose work appears carefree and exploratory, more concerned with material innovation than control. The artists force us to contend with the material application and presentation of their work: JR Larson layers sinewy overlapping flesh into refined, ephemeral wall-mounted "stretchings"; the bleed of marker and crystallization of gloppy bismuth defiles the purity of Jeffrey Scott Mathews' linen paintings; and Saira Mclaren's euphoric paintings use bleach to maneuver vivid watercolor. Artists will include Inna Babaeva, Benjamin Beaudoin, James Hyde, JR Larson, Jim Lee, Jeffrey Scott Mathews, Saira McLaren, Matt Miller and Tracy Thomason. In the Front Room: New Work by Sarah Shirley.

Part one of the exhibition, “Anti-Anti”, featured artists making work within a formalist framework based on grid, pattern or repetition. Whether they appear as visual traps, social critique or musings on the natural world, the works in this show reveal the ageless power of pattern. Works by Joshua Abelow, Gianna Commito, Jack Featherly, Stacy Fisher, Jaime Gecker, Matthew Lusk, Douglas Melini, Bryan Osburn, Sarah Shirley, Ellen Sayers and Keith J. Varadi were shown.

Although the outward appearances of works in each show are visibly different - and delivered by a range of motivations - there is a binding force connecting the artists. “Anti-Anti” and “Non-Non” present work that is anti-descriptive, non- heroic, non-schematic, non-sense, anti-craft, non-abrasive, and non-non-abrasive.

For more information or to schedule a viewing, please contact AANNshow@gmail.com
or 917-370-5421. Check out: http://franholstrom.blogspot.com

HAL BROMM
90 West Broadway at Chambers Street
Tribeca / New York 10007 Ph 212 732 6196
Visit us Friday & Saturday 2 – 6 or by appointment