57w57ARTS

 

57w57ARTS

My blue Kase Painting just back from the Latinx Abstract exhibition at BRIC will be on view at 57w57Arts in Al's Office. Along with work by Dom Gray (L) and James Sterling Pitt (On Table). Opening this Thursday June 17th from 6-8pm. Stop by and say hello! My thanks to Sue and Al Ravitz of 57w57ARTS! 

Latinx Abstract at BRIC House Brooklyn, NY

 

Latinx Abstract Curated by Elizabeth Ferrer January 21 - May 2, 2021 BRIC, Brooklyn NY

Excited to have some of my monochromatic abstract paintings from the Kase Painting series included in this exhibition. It's one of the first times that I show this body of work in an exhibition since I started it a few years ago. This is true for the large scale pieces. Nice to see so much great work in the exhibition with some familiar names but also many artists that I had not heard of before. 

The exhibition includes work by: Candida Alvarez, Maria Chávez, Alejandro Guzmán, Glendalys Medina, Freddy Rodríguez, Fanny Sanín, Mary Valverde, Vargas-Suarez Universal, and Sarah Zapata.

*Due to Covid 19 restrictions an appointment is highly recommended.

https://www.bricartsmedia.org

In the studio for 2017

Studio Views - KASE Paintings

I've been cooking up new work for the last year experimenting with new materials and techniques. A new body of work separate from my hard edge paintings of the last few years but along similar lines. A totally different process as a means or approach to abstract painting. Unlike my hard edge paintings that are made on stretched canvas over wood panel, these new pieces are straight up stretched canvas. The application of paint is done in a combination of color washes and graffiti marks that are then completely removed using graffiti remover with additional paint colors layer on top. 

The removal of the paint is aggressive so at times I end up with traces of the strainer visible on the surface from the pressure on the canvas. I also add spots of paint spatter and or collage bits of paint skins onto the surface. Each piece has it's own custom frame that function as an additional contextualizing element separate to the function of a traditional frame which is meant to aethetisize a work of art. The frames are raw wood with visible holes and or wood patches, rubbed with floor wax or stained with graffiti Krink ink, spray primers, car  bondo, etc. 

It's taken a while to figure this work out conceptually but now I'm at the stage that I feel confortable with where it's headed. It's all steam ahead for 2017, I'm excited!

  

Studio Work

Hard-Edge Painting #151, 2015 Latex and spray enamel on canvas over wood panel.

New work in the studio. Working on a series of black and white pieces all 40" x 30". Decided to focus on black and white. I was feeling that color was getting in the way and making things too busy. Going back to basics allows me the opportunity to work out other elements of the paintings. Such as the interaction between the ground, transparent, and opaque layers of paint. 

Starting with a white ground, I tape off a 1" boarder which I then roll with solid color. After that I apply a layer of white and spray paint the tag twice. Rotating the painting so that each tag occupies one half of the painting. I sand the entire area with a rotatory sander and build up the surface with transparent and opaque areas of paint. 

This part of the process is intuitive. In the past I've used photoshop to figure things out but for this work I just use a piece of white board to block out what I'm seeing so that I can decide white parts of the tag I'd like to keep. The last part is adding the 1/4 inch black boarder. So far I've made three paintings and will start another 40" x 30 and a slightly larger piece that measures 48" x 38".