-poiesis

Press Release

-poiesis

June 29 – July 28, 2006

Jack Shainman Gallery is pleased to present -poiesis, a group show featuring the work of El Anatsui, John Bankston, Geoffrey Chadsey, Till Freiwald, Phil Frost, Todd Hebert, Nir Hod, Prudencio Irazabal, Bob Knox, Micah Lexier, Jody Lomberg, Samson Mudzunga, Odili Donald Odita, Ross Rudel, Claudette Schreuders, Jonathan Seliger, Michael Snow, Hank Willis Thomas, Carlos Vega, Leslie Wayne, and William Wood.

The suffix –poiesis (from the Greek), signifies production, creation, or formation. In works of art, particularly those in which the process of making is not entirely concealed or dispelled, the synthesis of creative decisions is visually cumulative. Essentially, each work is a gathering of motions and intentions with the potential to produce highly-choreographed visual results. Often deliberate and generous, an artist’s formal response to materials seduces the viewer, directly affecting their experience in the presence of the work.

Micah Lexier’s laser-cut steel wall reliefs seem to freeze linear gestures in mid-air. The composite image of Michael Snow’s Walking Woman film series and William Wood’s oil and wax canvases construct images through the accumulation of layers, subtle gestures, and repetition. Jonathan Seliger’s elongated basket (in reality a simulacra constructed from painted and woven canvas) seems to suggest a handmade yet incredibly precise monument or tower, while Claudette Schreuders’ intimate and impeccably carved figurative sculptures impart a spiritual aura. Painters Nir Hod, Till Freiwald, and Bob Knox use realism as a conceptual device, carefully constructing alternate realities. Prudencio Irazabal’s meticulously-layered abstractions defy simple interpretation; their carefully constructed spaces are built layer upon layer. In these, along with other featured works in the exhibition, the artists are engaged in the semiotics of process: the visual ways and means by which experience is constructed and eventually transmitted to the viewer.

Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. For additional information and photographic material please contact the gallery at info@jackshainman.com.