Dennis Hollingsworth

Bart Exposito, Saturday at Tom Solomon Gallery

Bart's show is being installed today. That is, my good friend Bart Exposito:

BART EXPOSITO "Bends" at Thomas Solomon Gallery
May 8 - Jun 12, 2010

(Note: Tom Solomon has taken to assigning a photograph of architecture related images to accompany their press releases, a practice I applaud since it messes with the custom of flat footed straight ahead informational press releases, typical to most or all art galleries. I see it as an off-beat dimension of information refracted onto the artist and exhibition, an inspired touch from Tom. Artists usually choose the image, Tom seems to be the one choosing the topic or genre in the design of his press releases.)

From the press release:

Thomas Solomon Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Los Angeles artist BART EXPOSITO. This is Exposito?s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition opens on Saturday, May 8, 2010 with a reception for the artist from 6 to 8 PM at 427 Bernard Street.

Beginning nearly a decade ago, at the dawn of the new millennium, Exposito created paintings that embraced various schools of design, from Futurism to mid-century furniture and typology. Eschewing the boundaries of narrative and representation, the artist nonetheless began a journey through abstraction that has staked out a unique perspective on representation. Classically hard-edge in form, his paintings have maintained a steady course along the demilitarized zone of abstraction and representation. Keeping his ear to the ground and his eye on the ball, the artist has navigated a slow and steady course of constant evolution of form, color and his distinct balance of fantasy and restraint. For the better part of the past decade, he has continued to produce works on canvas and, less frequently, paper, which guide the viewer through the present, beyond the past and into the triumphant future of abstract painting.

This exhibition will present several new paintings, all works acrylic and pastel on canvas (2010). Just as past works have deftly used line and color to huge advantage, Exposito?s new works further push the relationship of super flatness to an increasing sensation of depth. His effortless facility with line, and especially color, has brought the work to a place where objects in space have evolved into landscapes and architecture. When in the past the hard edge contained a constant vibration within the color field, the new works evoke a melodic hum or tonal run. Despite the precision of the line work, Exposito long ago retreated from the rigidity of hard-edge abstraction in favor of a more lyrical free-hand drawing technique. His formerly flat application of color has relaxed, with age, allowing the viewer to see the evidence of his hand, enhancing the sense of depth and space. The viewer moves from one image to the next much like moving through field and room, enjoying the artist?s sense of time and place, seeing beyond the limits of the image.

Bart Exposito was born in Amarillo, Texas. He received his BFA from the University of Texas, Austin (1998) and MFA from California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA (2000). He has exhibited nationally in galleries and museums including the Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, California; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles; Black Dragon Society, Los Angeles; Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles; Claremont Graduate University; Galerie Grimm/Rosenfeld, M?nich, Germany; and Galerie f?r Gegenwartskunst, Bremen, Germany. In 2009, Exposito was included in the exhibition Abstract America at the Saatchi Gallery, London (catalogue). Public collections include Bank of America, Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, and Saatchi Gallery, London. Bart Exposito lives and works in Los Angeles.

Posted by Dennis at May 5, 2010 4:48 PM