ARTISTS
Building Models: The Shape of Painting
Building Models: The Shape of Painting is the latest installment in an ongoing series of exhibitions I began curating in 1985 under the general heading Building Models. This project encompasses two sub-series: Painting Between the Paradigms and Strategies. Influenced by the structural and conceptual shifts that fueled the critique of Modernism, my intent with these exhibitions is to index the diverse nature of abstract painting鈥檚 formalist strategies as they morph between 1951 and 1974-the year Artforum famously announced the so-called "death" of painting. During this period, critically re-evaluation, abstract art shifted conceptually from a mode of representation to an event/ object in the world.
By spanning three generations, this exhibition invites viewers to reconsider how formal decisions about shape and structure are never neutral but instead carry significant conceptual and aesthetic weight. The show offers a review of abstract painting鈥檚 alternative formats-those conceived to both extend and challenge the conventional rectangular (quadrangular) shape that had long been seen as painting鈥檚 norm. The artists featured here have critically re-examined the functions of painting鈥檚 traditional format, especially as it was challenged by Modernist artists who sought to ground their medium鈥檚 capacities in its own material conditions. It was during this era that the painting鈥檚 support and surface, once largely overlooked, could no longer be regarded as passive; instead, they emerged as active agents in shaping composition, content, and concept.
Reflecting these historical and theoretical developments, the works in this exhibition present a diverse range of approaches that address what had been suppressed, rendered unattainable, or constrained by material conventions rooted in formalism. By moving beyond these conventions, the artists probe the ongoing relevance and complexity of abstract painting, fostering a dynamic interplay between the real and the depicted.
The assembled works exemplify distinct strategies, demonstrating how painters-while maintaining the essential frontality of painting-have manipulated format to reorder the viewer鈥檚 experience. Ultimately, Building Models: The Shape of Painting highlights how artists continue to renew abstract art鈥檚 engagement with materiality, perception, and cognition. The exhibition affirms that this tradition remains a vital means for reimagining the relationship between artwork and viewer.
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Building Models: The Shape of Painting is the latest installment in an ongoing series of exhibitions I began curating in 1985 under the general heading Building Models. This project encompasses two sub-series: Painting Between the Paradigms and Strategies. Influenced by the structural and conceptual shifts that fueled the critique of Modernism, my intent with these exhibitions is to index the diverse nature of abstract painting鈥檚 formalist strategies as they morph between 1951 and 1974-the year Artforum famously announced the so-called "death" of painting. During this period, critically re-evaluation, abstract art shifted conceptually from a mode of representation to an event/ object in the world.
By spanning three generations, this exhibition invites viewers to reconsider how formal decisions about shape and structure are never neutral but instead carry significant conceptual and aesthetic weight. The show offers a review of abstract painting鈥檚 alternative formats-those conceived to both extend and challenge the conventional rectangular (quadrangular) shape that had long been seen as painting鈥檚 norm. The artists featured here have critically re-examined the functions of painting鈥檚 traditional format, especially as it was challenged by Modernist artists who sought to ground their medium鈥檚 capacities in its own material conditions. It was during this era that the painting鈥檚 support and surface, once largely overlooked, could no longer be regarded as passive; instead, they emerged as active agents in shaping composition, content, and concept.
Reflecting these historical and theoretical developments, the works in this exhibition present a diverse range of approaches that address what had been suppressed, rendered unattainable, or constrained by material conventions rooted in formalism. By moving beyond these conventions, the artists probe the ongoing relevance and complexity of abstract painting, fostering a dynamic interplay between the real and the depicted.
The assembled works exemplify distinct strategies, demonstrating how painters-while maintaining the essential frontality of painting-have manipulated format to reorder the viewer鈥檚 experience. Ultimately, Building Models: The Shape of Painting highlights how artists continue to renew abstract art鈥檚 engagement with materiality, perception, and cognition. The exhibition affirms that this tradition remains a vital means for reimagining the relationship between artwork and viewer.
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Contributed by David Carrier / Anyone old enough to remember Claude Levi-Strauss鈥檚 books on structural anthropology or Rosalind Krauss鈥� famed structuralist account of sculpture, all richly suggestive sources of art theory.
