ARTISTS
Hog's Curve
Halsey Mckay Gallery is pleased to present Hog鈥檚 Curve, a group exhibition curated by gallery artist Joseph Hart鈥揻eaturing works by Alvaro Barrington, Trisha Brown, Sarah Crowner, Naotaka Hiro, Matthew Kirk, Eddie Martinez, Walter Price, Matt Rich, Beverly Semmes, Susan Tepper and Rachel Eulena Williams. Hart writes:
鈥淭he spirit of this exhibition surrounds a term that I stumbled upon called Hogarth鈥檚 Curve (also referred to as A Line of Beauty) named after William Hogarth, an 18th century English painter and writer. He wrote about beauty and aesthetics, and proposed that in visual art, S-curved lines, or serpentine lines, signify liveliness and action. In contrast, he suggests that straight and parallel lines imply stasis, or death. We can argue against this, but I certainly appreciate the examination of such a fundamental set of marks and their suggestive emotional impact. I鈥檓 also willing to connect our attraction to curved forms to some of the essentials: sex, independence and autonomy, the natural world, youthfulness and wild human impulse. These ideas are easy to forget yet remain provocative and we pursue them for our entire lives. The works included in this show weave in out of each other, establishing a sense of formal interconnectedness while maintaining their own tempo, conceptual sovereignty and individualism. Selfishly, they also all teach me things about my own visual predilections: decisions and gestures that show a love for craft, touch and pictorial generosity.
Trisha Brown鈥檚 performative drawings operate like maps for uninhibited reaching, while Eddie Martinez鈥檚 joyful abstractions become cushions of reassurance for my own anxieties and insecurities. Walter Price鈥檚 illustrative vignette paintings allow me to wander into a narrative, invent my way out or stay comfortably lost. Susan Tepper鈥檚 figurative paintings are a reminder that turmoil and beauty are built into the paradox of our bodies. Naotaka Hiro鈥檚 work also champions the human form as a vessel for scrutiny, and as a tool itself. The tactility and slippage in Beverly Semmes ceramic sculptural stacks with their many grips, urge me to hold and feel the weight. Alvaro Barrington鈥檚 paintings nudge into a history, and underscore how procedure and seeing can be the painting. Matt Rich鈥檚 shaped paintings on unstretched canvas unapologetically disregard rigid supports, relying on the utility of skin and a charming revolt against right angles鈥搘hich lead directly into the dynamic contours of Rachel Eulena William鈥檚 cut canvas and rope paintings鈥搕heir edges, intersections and openings snapping at our gaze. We are now primed for the seamed connections and deliberateness in Sarah Crowner鈥檚 sewn paintings, thoughtful collisions of sharp and soft, architecture and botanic. The layers of gestural rhythms and ghosts in Matthew Kirk鈥檚 paintings circle us back to Trisha Brown鈥檚 drawings, feeling more cared for and alive, ready to start looking and learning all over again. Or, we could just hit the beach and watch the waves.鈥�
-Joseph Hart, March, 2018, Brooklyn, NY
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Halsey Mckay Gallery is pleased to present Hog鈥檚 Curve, a group exhibition curated by gallery artist Joseph Hart鈥揻eaturing works by Alvaro Barrington, Trisha Brown, Sarah Crowner, Naotaka Hiro, Matthew Kirk, Eddie Martinez, Walter Price, Matt Rich, Beverly Semmes, Susan Tepper and Rachel Eulena Williams. Hart writes:
鈥淭he spirit of this exhibition surrounds a term that I stumbled upon called Hogarth鈥檚 Curve (also referred to as A Line of Beauty) named after William Hogarth, an 18th century English painter and writer. He wrote about beauty and aesthetics, and proposed that in visual art, S-curved lines, or serpentine lines, signify liveliness and action. In contrast, he suggests that straight and parallel lines imply stasis, or death. We can argue against this, but I certainly appreciate the examination of such a fundamental set of marks and their suggestive emotional impact. I鈥檓 also willing to connect our attraction to curved forms to some of the essentials: sex, independence and autonomy, the natural world, youthfulness and wild human impulse. These ideas are easy to forget yet remain provocative and we pursue them for our entire lives. The works included in this show weave in out of each other, establishing a sense of formal interconnectedness while maintaining their own tempo, conceptual sovereignty and individualism. Selfishly, they also all teach me things about my own visual predilections: decisions and gestures that show a love for craft, touch and pictorial generosity.
Trisha Brown鈥檚 performative drawings operate like maps for uninhibited reaching, while Eddie Martinez鈥檚 joyful abstractions become cushions of reassurance for my own anxieties and insecurities. Walter Price鈥檚 illustrative vignette paintings allow me to wander into a narrative, invent my way out or stay comfortably lost. Susan Tepper鈥檚 figurative paintings are a reminder that turmoil and beauty are built into the paradox of our bodies. Naotaka Hiro鈥檚 work also champions the human form as a vessel for scrutiny, and as a tool itself. The tactility and slippage in Beverly Semmes ceramic sculptural stacks with their many grips, urge me to hold and feel the weight. Alvaro Barrington鈥檚 paintings nudge into a history, and underscore how procedure and seeing can be the painting. Matt Rich鈥檚 shaped paintings on unstretched canvas unapologetically disregard rigid supports, relying on the utility of skin and a charming revolt against right angles鈥搘hich lead directly into the dynamic contours of Rachel Eulena William鈥檚 cut canvas and rope paintings鈥搕heir edges, intersections and openings snapping at our gaze. We are now primed for the seamed connections and deliberateness in Sarah Crowner鈥檚 sewn paintings, thoughtful collisions of sharp and soft, architecture and botanic. The layers of gestural rhythms and ghosts in Matthew Kirk鈥檚 paintings circle us back to Trisha Brown鈥檚 drawings, feeling more cared for and alive, ready to start looking and learning all over again. Or, we could just hit the beach and watch the waves.鈥�
-Joseph Hart, March, 2018, Brooklyn, NY
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