LEONHARD HURZLMEIER Leonhard Hurzlmeier (b. 1983, Starnberg, Germany) has participated in exhibitions domestic and internationally at venues including Lothringer 13, Munich, DE; Munich Re, Munich, DE; Autocenter, Berlin, DE; the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich, DE; Skaftell — Center for Visual Art East Iceland, Seydisfjördur, ISL; and Kunstpavillon im Alten Botanischen Garten, Munich, DE; among others. Hurzlmeier has been the recipient of the Kulturpreis Bayern of the EOn Bayern AG award and the Jubiläums-Stipendien-Stiftung for the Akademie der Bildenden Künste grant. He is in the permanent collection of the Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon and Munich RE, Munich, DE. In 2018, Hatje Cantz published Neue Frauen, a monograph of the artists’ work. Hurzlmeier lives and works in Munich, Germany.

LEONHARD HURZLMEIER Born 1983, Starnberg, Germany Lives and works in Munich, Germany

EDUCATION 2011 Master’s student (Diploma) of Prof. Jerry Zeniuk, Munich, DE 2011 Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, DE

SOLO AND TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS 2019 Told Tales, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY 2018 Neue Frauen, Jahn und Jahn, Munich, DE 2017 Hurzlmeier/Füllemanm, Duve, Berlin, DE (with Christopher Füllemann) All New Women, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY 2015 Neueste Frauen, Galerie Jo van de Loo, Munich, DE Der Tisch der weißen Frauen, Galerie Jo van de Loo, Munich, DE 2013 Neue Frauen, Hubert Burda Media, Munich, DE 2012 13 Portraits, Galerie Andreas Grimm, Munich, DE 2011 Abendland, Galerie Andreas Grimm, Munich, DE (with Andreas Chwatal) 2009 Venus&Mars II – Künstlerpaare/Fotoportraits, WELTRAUM, Munich, DE Schwebende Superquallen zerquetschen Jets in der Luft, WELTRAUM, Munich, DE (with Florian Haller)

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2019 Works on Paper, Galerie Britta von Rettberg, Munich, DE 2018 Ten Years, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY Locus Lapis, Martina Tauber Fine Art, ODEEH, Berlin, DE Förderpreise 2018 der Landeshauptstadt München (2018 Promotional Awards of the City of Munich), Lothringer 13, Munich, DE 2017 STARTUPART II, Munch Re and Lenbachhaus, Munich, DE Frauen, Technik, Landschaft, Kunstverein Ebersberg, DE Shoulders, Martina Tauber Fine Art, ODEEH, Berlin, DE 2016 The Human Condition, Curated by John Wolf, The Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA Other Better Things: Amy Brenner, Conor Fields, Eric Huebsch, and Leonhard Hurzlmeier,

curated by Adrian Rosenfeld, Annual Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA The HU: The HU Roadshow, various locations, Munich, DE 2015 Proper Nouns, curated by Wyatt Kahn, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York, NY Piep!, Arkandenale, Kunstarkaden, Munich, DE (catalogue) WELTRAUM, Rathausgalerie Kunsthalle, Munich, DE Animal Friends, RSTR4, Munich, DE 2014 All Creatures Small and Great, Galerie Christina Haubs, Munich, DE Le Ping Le Pong, Galerie Jo van de Loo, Munich, DE Private View VI, Galerie Andreas Grimm, Munich, DE The HU: The HU Show, Bezirk Oberbayern, Munich, DE (catalogue) Vater und Söhne, Modern Studio Freising, Freising, DE Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire), Toot Fanute, Melbourne, AUS Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire), blank_space gallery, Sydney, AUS Februlous! - Eine kleine Gruppenretrospektive, Weltraum, Munich, DE Jahresgaben, Kunstverein München, Munich, DE 2013 Allsympathien, RSTR 4, Munich, DE Private View V, Galerie Andreas Grimm, Munich, DE Das allerletzte Prof. Winkler Stipendium, Kunstverein Weiden, Weiden, DE 2012 Zimmer frei!, Hotel Mariandl, Munich, DE Private View IV, Galerie Andreas Grimm, Munich, DE

Time Capsule - Eine Frau, ein Baum, eine Kuh, curated by Hannes Gump and Michael Biber, Museum für konkrete Kunst, Ingolstadt, DE The HU: HU is HU, WELTRAUM, Munich, DE, in coordination with the Special Olympics 2011 Attraktiv (Editionen), Prince of Wales, Munich, DE Reflectionfactory, Kunstarkaden, Munich, DE (catalogue) Pop Hits, Autocenter, Berlin, DE and Tanzschulprojects, Munich, DE Hurzlmeier – Der Abstrakte, Der Naive, Der Komische, Valentin-Karlstadt-Musäum, Munich, DE Abendland, Galerie Andreas Grimm, Munich, DE Fazebuk, WELTRAUM, Munich, DE Japan Benefiz, Artreport, Munich, DE Diplomausstellung, Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich, DE 2010 We Work, You’re Nuts, Artist League, Kiev, UKR High-Def, Gregory Lind Gallery, San Francisco, CA Komm wir gehen, Galerie Matthias Jahn, Munich, DE Hurzlmeier – Der Abstrakte, Der Naive, Der Komische, Romantikerhaus, Jena, DE Sehen & gesehen, Berliner Boden, Berlin, DE Im Diskurs – Raum(re)produktionen, WELTRAUM, Munich, DE Halbjahresgaben, Tanzschulprojekts, Munich, DE # 1, Kanal 12, Munich, DE Gloria Bavaria, Gartenhaus der Kunst, curated by Prince Christopher von Bayern, Munich, DE Find A Place To Trust And Then Try Trusting It For A While, Haus 10, Fürstenfeldbruck, DE 2009 Dr. Wink, Art Sümer, Istanbul, Turkey Trans: Form-Color, Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA Some Kind of Vacuum, Galerie Royal, Munich, DE Venus&Mars – Künstlerpaare, WELTRAUM, Munich, DE (catalogue) Neue Münchner Malerei, Galerie der Moderne, Munich, DE Trans: Formal, Pharmaca, Los Angeles, CA (catalogue) WELTRAUM – Jahresüberblick, Lothringer13, Munich, DE (catalogue) Das Herr Winkelhuber Stipendium München, WELTRAUM, Munich, DE 2008 Bei Skylla und Charybdis, Weltraum, Munich, DE Kleinere Arbeiten- Fünf Jahre Raum 500, Raum 500, Munich, DE Spitzenwerke der Zeichnung aus der Sammlung Abstädt, Atelier Hackel/Seitz, Munich, DE Jahresgaben, Kunstverein München, Munich, DE Schwebende Superquallen zerquetschen Jets in der Luft, WELTRAUM, Munich, DE Transport, Skaftfell—Center for Visual Art East Iceland, Seydisfjördur, Iceland 17072008, Galerie Andreas Grimm/Galerie Michael Zink, Munich, DE (catalogue) 2007 Trans: Abstraktion, Weltraum, Munich, DE (catalogue) Wir zeigen fast alles II, Kunstpavillion, Munich, DE Wir zeigen fast alles, Kolosssaal, Munich, DE 2006 Konservativer Neofiguratismus in der gegenwärtigen Romantik, Kranhalle, Munich, DE Gallery of Art Academy of Budapest, Hungary Open House Gallery, Pullach, DE 2005 Visual Issues, Städtische Galerie, Traunstein, DE 2003 Pret a Pour Art, Barer Kunstverein, Munich, DE 2002 13 Werke, Kaffee und Bild, Munich, DE SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS 2012 Kulturpreis Bayern of the EOn Bayern AG 2010 Jubiläums-Stipendien-Stiftung for the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich, DE 2008 Hans-Rudolf-Stiftung 2008 Fanny Carlita Stiftung

PUBLICATIONS 2018 Neue Frauen, edited by Christian Ganzenberg, Hatje Cantz, August 2018 2015 Piep! Arkadenale, 2015 2014 The HU, Galerie im Bezirk Oberbayern, Munich, DE 2011 Reflectionfactory, Kunstarkaden, Munich, DE 2009 Venus&Mars – Künstlerpaare, Weltraum, Munich, DE Trans: Formal, Pharmaca, Los Angeles, CA Weltraum – Jahresüberblick, Lothringer13, Munich, DE 2008 17072008 - Die wa(hr)re Kunst, Galerie Grimm/Galerie Zink, Munich, DE 2007 Trans: Abstraktion, Weltraum, Munich, DE

PROJECTS 2014-2012 Lehel Backyards – Open Studio Weekend 2010 Member of the curatorial staff at the artist-run space, Weltraum, Munich, DE 2008 Co-Editor of the T2000 magazine

BIBLIOGRAPHY 2019 Indrisek, Scott. “Beneath a Pictorial Humorist’s Cheery Surface,” MAGENTA, October 11. 2018 Tulley, Sarah. “Leonhard Hurzlmeier’s playful portraits depicting female identity,” Creative Boom, February 10.2017 Jerry Saltz, “To Do: March 22—April 5,” New York Magazine, March 19. “Leonhard Hurzlmeier,” The New Yorker, March 18. Smith, Roberta. “What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week,” The New York Times, March 17. Miller, Leigh Anne. “Leonhard Hurzlmeier at Rachel Uffner,” Art in America, March 9. Duffy, Owen. “Ten to see: New York,” Artreview, March 2. “Leonhard Hurzlmeier: All New Women,” International Art Exhibitions, February 24. 2016 “About Face,” Harpers Bazaar, p. 164-170, November. Eckardt, Stephanie. “Inside an Abandoned L.A. Hospital Turned Creepy Art Show with Robert Mapplethorpe and Marilyn Minter,” W Magazine, October 18. Logan, Liz. “Abandoned Hospitals Are Becoming Surprising New Spaces for Art,” Artsy, October 18. “Jenny Holzer & Mapplethorpe works go on show in a hospital,” DAZED, October 13. McPhate, Mike. “California Today: Silicon Valley, Housing Villain, Tries to Make Amends,” The New York Times, October 6. Irick, Whitney. “Abandoned Hospital Transformed Into Art Exhibit,” NBC Los Angeles, October 6. Zhengs, Desmond Lim, “Strokes of Genius,” Harpers Bazaar Malaysia, p. 38-39, Summer “The Human Condition,” Cultured Magazine, October 2016 Womack, Catherine. “An Abandoned Hospital in West Adams Has Been Filled With Fine Art,” LA Weekly, September 30. Barragan, Bianca. “Abandoned West Adams hospital will be transformed into an art gallery,” Curbed LA, September 30. Cashdan, Marina and Lesser, Casey. “The 20 Best Booths at Frieze New York,” Artsy, May 5. McMahon, Katherine and Durón, Maximiliano. “A Tour of Frieze New York 2016,” ARTnews, May 4. 2015 “‘The Hu’ und wie sie die Welt sehen,” Süddeutsche Zeitung, December 27. “Here’s an Artsy Poster to Remind You to Floss,” The Cut, August 19. “Proper Nouns at Rachel Uffner Gallery,” Art Viewer, March 9. “Leonhard Hurzlmeier - Neueste Frauen,” Reflektor, February 27. Indrisek, Scott. “5 Must See Gallery Shows: Bruce Davenport, Jr., Amalia Ulman, and More,” Blouin Artinfo, February 6. Smith, Roberta. “15 Group Shows Not to Miss: Art Exhibitions from Chelsea to the Lower East Side,” The New York Times, Jan 29. Small, Rachel. “Wyatt Kahn’s Proper Proposal,” Interview, January 16. Cheng, Dewitt. “‘High-Def’ at Gregory Lind Gallery, San Francisco, CA,” Visual Art Source, Jan 11. Saltz, Jerry. “See: Proper Nouns,” New York Magazine, January 11. Torres, Jesus Manuel Rojas. “Rachel Uffner’s First 2015 Exhibitions,” What’s Up Miami, January.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon Munich RE, Munich DE

Leonhard Hurzlmeier’s crisp, quasi-abstract paintings take on heavy issues such as war, peace, and immigration.

Leonhard Hurzlmeier recalls being mesmerized by a record cover when he was five years old. Staring at the front of Peter Meetz’s 1977 Rolfs Vogelhochzeit—with its 12 illustrations of birds smiling, embracing, and lovingly procreating—the future painter had a revelation. “I was so fascinated by this geometric abstraction,” says the Munich-based artist. “I was like: These are not birds—but they are birds!” This fascination with how a real thing in the world could be abstracted into shapes and colors would stick with him; it’s still there in his current exhibition, “Told Tales,” in which common objects—a ship, a fence, an elephant—invite closer inspection.

Walk into the gallery and you’ll be struck by simplicity. Hurzlmeier admits a certain affinity with the illustrative style of children’s books, scaled to epic dimensions. “I want to bring some positivity into the world with my art,” he says, adding that he likes the paintings to at first glance be “lighthearted” and “nice to look at.” He refers to that impression as the “quick painting.” But, he says, there is the slow painting” lurking underneath.That beneath-the-surface slowness, he adds, is akin to how the Eastern Orthodox church approaches its own icons: a symbolic image to be stared at and pondered. Hurzlmeier’s paintings of a burning candle, or a few multicolored drops representing blood, sweat, and tears—are an invitation to viewers to let their minds wander. And while the works appear kid-friendly, he envisions them as subtle statements on war, peace, immigration, and other heavy topics.

Hurzlmeier comes from a creative family. His father, Rudy, is a self-taught artist who works as a newspaper satirist and cartoonist. (An accompanying, tightly curated group show at Rachel Uffner traces some of Hurzlmeier’s influences and includes a bonkers painting of a “gay seagull” made by his dad.) “My father used to work at home,” Hurzlmeier says, “so we were used to this: the father sitting there, doing drawings and comic strips. We worked on sketches he threw away—we colored them, ‘finished’ them. It was an artist’s home.” In his teenage years, Hurzlmeier initially had ambitions to become an architect or city planner. He soon soured on that career path, realizing that it would likely take decades before he’d be able to construct the kind of buildings he dreamed of. Visual art seemed like a pleasant plan B. Hurzlmeier was accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, much to the chagrin of his “proud but also a little jealous” father, who had applied and been rejected three times.

Prior to the academy, Hurzlmeier had been working on portraits. All figurative impulses were drilled out of him by his new professor, Jerry Zeniuk, who pushed him toward abstraction and color theory—a self-created “geometric grid” that would inform his new paintings. After graduation, Hurzlmeier hit another crossroads. He began showing work in conjunction with his father and his brother, and the informal context loosened him up a bit and allowed him to interject the human figure back into his system of abstraction. The result was closer to Hurzlmeier’s current style: flat and illustrative, with recognizable forms collapsed into blocks of vibrant color. It’s an aesthetic that harkens both to an omnipresent advertising aesthetic and to the populist paintings of someone like Charlie Harper, with conscious influences that include Magritte, Tamara de Lempicka, Max Beckmann, and what Hurzlmeier calls an analog approach to vector graphics.

Soon after, Hurzlmeier latched onto an equally timeless theme: the female form. “I could play around with hair, makeup, curves, dresses, attributes,” he says of these lightly sensual paintings, which depicted women at work and play, riding bikes or striking yoga poses. At the same time, the early rumblings of the #MeToo movement were in the air, and Hurzlmeier envisioned his women as similarly bold, empowered vanguards. He received his fair share of criticism—some friends somewhat disdainfully referred to the works as his “boob paintings.” And, of course, there’s a certain touchiness involved when any male artist is reducing the female body into so many shapes and colors. “For me, it was not the question,” he says. “That’s how art works: You take something which interests you, and you deal with it.”

What’s interesting Hurzlmeier now is how far he can whittle his compositions down and still have them be evocative and affecting. “The more I go to extremes in simplifying the motif,” he says, “the bigger the room for the viewer’s imagination becomes.” Admittedly, “entering this imaginary space is not everybody’s favorite thing to do.” But that’s OK. Hurzlmeier’s art can be digested quickly, or it can be lingered over at length. Either way, it works.

Consider a 2016–17 painting, Big Apple Fan, which depicts a smiling young man—possibly Adam—about to chomp down on what could be the fruit of knowledge. After completing the work, amidst the havoc of the U.S. presidential election, Hurzlmeier came to a slightly horrifying revelation: The boy, with his swoop of flaxen hair, resembled a younger (and much beautified) Donald J. Trump. Beyond any such associations, it’s an almost aggressive experiment in what can be achieved through simple means. The composition is mainly a series of circles—eyeballs, apple, the cheek’s rosy redness—and a seriously limited palette. And yet stare long enough and your own eye can’t help but bounce around joyously in this space. It’s classic Hurzlmeier—quick painting followed by slow dissection.

“Told Tales” is on view at the Rachel Uffner Gallery, 170 Suffolk Street, New York, until November 3.

Leonhard Hurzlmeier: All New Women, Rachel Uffner, through 23 April in his first solo exhibition in the United States, Leonhard Hurzlmeier furthers his trademark oeuvre, characterised by abstracted women, flat and geometricised. The Munich-based artist‘s endearing portraits invoke modernism’s best graphic posters, as well as the likes of Picasso and Malevich. The simplicity of Hurzlmeier’s style is alluring. A particularly notable painting is Drunken Beach Queen (2016–17) in which a nude woman reclines with a martini in hand, while a cubist-looking breast (or ear) levitates beside her head. Her hair cascades over her shoulder, falling down her body to create the beach on which she rests.

Once a setting for the injured, the expectant and the mentally ill, a deserted hospital in Los Angeles has been converted into a gallery show that encourages visitors to ponder what it means to be human.

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center, in the West Adams neighborhood, was shuttered in 2013 in the wake of a fraud scandal. According to a Los Angeles Times report, the owner was accused of paying recruiters to lure homeless people in as patients, then billing insurers for unnecessary treatments.

Workers were laid off, patients were transferred and the hospital was abandoned.

Now, the space is being revived with a temporary exhibit curated by John Wolf, an art adviser and dealer based in Los Angeles, who was intrigued by the site’s themes of life and death.

“The building itself houses so much human emotion,” Mr. Wolf said. “So many people passed through there in very traumatic times in their life, very painful times, and very exciting times, because there’s a maternity ward there.”

The20BestBoothsatFriezeNewYorkARTSYEDITORIALBYMARINACASHDANANDCASEYLESSERMAY5TH,201611:05PMWiththefiftheditionofFriezeNewYorkinfullswing,wescouredtheover200galleriesonviewatRandall’sIslandtohighlight20boothsyoushouldn’tmiss.

RachelUffnerFOCUS,BOOTHD20WITHWORKSBYLEONHARDHURZLMEIERANDPAMLINS

InstallationviewofRachelUffner’sboothatFriezeNewYork,2016.PhotobyAdamReichforArtsy. Whileplayingtoinsatiablemarkettrends,RachelUffner’ssmarttwo-personshowoffigurativepaintingsandceramicsoffersafreshpairingofcontemporaryartistswhoshareincommonanaffinityforcleanlinesandmodernart.Inhisenticingpaintingsofwomen,madeupofcrispplanesofcolor,LeonhardHurzlmeieremphasizeshissubjects’curvaceousforms,inflectingtheworkswithhintsofplayfulvoyeurism,whilealsomakingnodstohisCubistforebears.Meanwhile,intimatelysizedsculpturesbyPamLinsareconceptualrecreationsofarchitecturalmodelspicturedinphotographsofclassroomsatthe1920s-eraMoscowartandarchitectureschoolVKhUTEMAS.Evidencingtheschool’sConstructivistleanings,thegeometricformsareonlypartiallyglazed.Theartistplacescolorglazeonlyontothebacksidesofthesculptures,addingherpersonaltouchestothepartsnotvisibleintheoriginalphotographsfromVKhUTEMAS.

27. Dezember 2015, 20:42 Uhr Kulturtipp"The Hu" und wie sie die Welt sehen

Zahnärztin bei der Morgentoilette von Leonhard Hurzlmeier.

Der Gebrauch von Zahnseide kann einem allerlei Verrenkungen abverlangen. Selbst eine Zahnärztin stößt da an ihre sportlichen Grenzen - jedenfalls in der bildhaften Vorstellung von Leonhard Hurzlmeier (Bild rechts). Nicht weniger wunderbar wirken die Darstellungen zweier satter Hühner auf einer Parkbank oder die Filzstiftzeichnung von Kalifstorch. Eine künstlerisch begabte Familie hat diese Werke geschaffen - die Hurzlmeiers. Vater Rudi ist ein preisgekrönter Karikaturist, arbeitet für das Satiremagazin Titanic, er veröffentlichte 39 Bücher, seine Bilder waren international ausgestellt. Sohn Leonhard

hat an der Akademie der Bildenden Künste studiert und wurde 2011 mit dem Eon-Kulturpreis Bayern ausgezeichnet. Er zeigte seine geometrischen Gemälde, darunter kubistisch anmutende Frauenportraits, bereits in New York. Der ältere Sohn Julian wurde mit Trisomie 21 geboren. Seine farbsatten Zeichnungen sind fröhlich und virtuos. Die

Bilder der drei sehr unterschiedlichen Künstler sind alle voller Originalität. Lustvoll unterwandern sie Konventionen. Die Ausstellung "The Hu-Roadshow" wird am Donnerstag, 7. Januar, um 19 Uhr im Kulturzentrum Trudering an der Wasserburger Landstraße eröffnet. Sie dauert bis 22. Januar.

August 19, 2015 9:30 a.m.Here’s an Artsy Poster to Remind You to Floss

This week at the Cut, we're embracing our inner artist.

Whether you're going back to school or returning to the office from vacation, September is a busy time of the year, and a good one for redecorating. For a quick changeup of your living space, hang up this green lithograph poster of a 2014 print by German abstract painter Leonhard Hurzlmeier. If you want to give off an intellectual vibe to your new roommates, try putting it in your dorm room or apartment. Or hang it in your bathroom as a sophisticated paean to dental hygiene.

Leonhard Hurzlmeier / The Poster Dentist Getting Ready, $55 at the Posters.

Group shows are a staple of the New York

gallery scene, but right now they are not

only more plentiful than usual, they are

especially good. The 15 group shows

reviewed or mentioned here form a

welcome antidote to the deluge of

monolithic, big-name, single-artist shows

that have drawn most of the air in the art

world over the last year. They take us to a

place where money is not king and give us

small snapshots from the gigantic

disorderly sprawl that is contemporary art.

These shows often represent dealers, their

gallery directors or invited curators —

usually artists or critics — thinking

slightly or very outside the box, putting

together disparate works often by younger

or lesser-known artists, in new and

illuminating combinations. The dizzying

bounty here reveals not only the elastic

nature of the words “art” and “artist” but

also of the group-show format itself.

ARTISTIC DISSONANCE

If there is a group-show look at the moment, it

is one of emphatic diversity in which nearly

every work on view seems to be in a different,

not necessarily identifiable medium. The

Lower East Side harbors several worthwhile

iterations, including the elegant “Zabriskie

Point” at the Jack Hanley Gallery (327

Broome Street), where that 1970 film’s

surreal, ultracontemporary sense of

displacement prevails. “It Rained Again” at

Bureau (178 Norfolk Street, through Feb. 15)

is an appealing assortment. “Proper Nouns” at

Rachel Uffner (170 Suffolk Street, through

Feb. 22), organized by Wyatt Kahn, an artist

and the gallery’s director, remains closely

focused on the body in different guises.

Especially sparse but rewarding variations are

“Eraser” at Laurel Gitlen (122 Norfolk

Street, through Feb. 15) and “Believe You

Me” at 247365 (131 Eldridge Street, through

Feb. 15), a hole-in-the-wall arrival from

Brooklyn.

together disparate works often by younger or

lesser-known artists, in new and illuminating

combinations. The dizzying bounty here

reveals not only the elastic nature of the

words “art” and “artist” but also of the group-

show format itself.

 

December 29, 2014 – January 11, 2015

 

WUM NEWS NYC: Rachel Uffner's First 2015 Exhibitions

January 2015, by Jesus Manuel Rojas Torres

Zachary Leener, 2014, glazed ceramic, 13 x 13.5 x 13.5 inches (33 x 34.3 x 34.3 cm)

New York City–Two upcoming exhibits are planned for January 2015 at the NYC-based Rachel Uffner Gallery, a group exhibition of five artists entitled "Proper Nouns" [Lucas Blalock, Leonhard Hurzlmeier, Jamie Isenstein, Zachary Leener, and Paul McCarthy] and a second solo show at the gallery with Gianna Commito's new paintings (On view from January 11 to February 22, 2015).

"Proper Nouns" is a group exhibition curated by Wyatt Kahn, a NY-based artist who had his two-month first exhibition last summer in Zurich, Switzerland with Galerie Eva Presenhuber.

Kahn has come to prominence on the international art scene with a series of works using a technique that he developed, building forms by cutting shaped MDF stretcher panels and covering them with raw canvas.

Through the work of five artists, "Proper Nouns" explores the tension between figuration and abstraction, delicately balanced through the use of different mediums and often humorous expression of personal sensibilities.

The exhibition revolves around a set of nouns that constitute the central imagery of each artist’s work.

Hot dogs, lamps, knobs, cranks, women, and the painter’s persona all inhabit the gallery, and through decontextualization and embodiment, emerge as figurative terms hovering on abstraction, not unlike proper nouns.

With Gianna Commito's new set of paintings the gallery is supporting the artist's commitment to continue with her creations using a rigorous formal structure of circuitous geometric stripes and planes, introducing shifts in palette and interlocking bands of varying girth and expanse, while alluding to architectural blueprints, modular buildings, and malleable external phenomena. "Taking inspiration from residential architecture, particularly 19th century farmhouses in Maine where the artist often resides, Commito’s paintings analogously start with a central axis, followed by horizontal and vertical lines either pushing out from the middle or compressing inward from the edge to create a source of internally and/or externally applied pressure.

The concentric framing devices are painted first, then covered up while Commito adds the planer, fractured, layers that eventually form the 'body' of the painting.

This kind of scaffolding of forms is apparent in compositions that become more chaotic as they move out towards the periphery, where multiple planes and stripes collapse on each other and formal strategies are concealed and revealed, establishing an uneasy union between accumulative color pairings and patterns."