Jim Kempner Fine Art is pleased to announce its first solo exhibition with New York based painter Stanley Casselman. The work is a narrative of the artist’s development in light exploration and the unique idioms that have emerged through his evolution with the squeegee. The body of work, titled 47, refers to where the artist stands in his ongoing Inhaling Richter (IR) series, and will include a selection of his most recent canvases. 47 will be on view from June 19th through August 3, 2014. An opening reception with the artist will be held on Thursday, June 19th from 6-8 pm.
The series of abstracts was inspired by New York Magazine critic Jerry Saltz, who posed a challenge on Facebook for artists to replicate the works of renowned artists, such as Gerhard Richter, Wade Guyton, Robert Ryman, Agnes Martin and others. Having built and used squeegees in his artistic practice over the past 25 years, Casselman embraced the chance to have Saltz view his work and took the challenge. Two years later, with a feature in NY Magazine and an expanded visual language, Casselman continues to pursue, push and explore the limitless possibilities of art making with a squeegee.
In his IR series, Casselman uses tools from his background in ceramics (ribs, pallet knives, squeegees, etc.) to add, subtra¬ct, blend and otherwise manipulate paint on canvas. Casselman constantly rotates the canvas, while making the work to create perpendicular overlaps of color. The physics involved, plus the way the paint is layered in similar and wildly differing viscosities, result in the formation of fissures. These fortuitous separations reveal smaller vignettes within each painting. Working wet on wet in acrylic, the paintings are made in a condensed time frame using an action/reaction process. Beginning with an idea of color and form, the painting ultimately dictates its own life and direction.
Stanley Casselman studied at Pitzer College in Claremont, California and Richmond College in London, England. He has had numerous group and solo exhibitions in the Untied States and in Europe. His work is in many private and corporate collections throughout the world.
For more information, please contact Dru Arstark at dru@jimkempner.com or
Sarah Bielicky at sarah@jimkempner.com.