Irma Blank at Luxembourg & Dayan Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

The Luxembourg & Dayan gallery on the Upper East Side is presenting “Irma Blank painting between the lines” The work in this exhibition explores the visual structure of written language. Blank developed a process to represent text through gestural mark making without using actual alphabets or words.

In “Radical Writings, poem for Gaston Bachelard”, oil on canvas from 1995 Blank illustrates the basic geometry of the traditional codex book form. There is a vertical central spine and the evenly spaced horizontal lines.

Using linear parallel brush strokes to substitute for written language, the artist has removed the literal content from the concept of a book and focused on the abstract shapes and lines.

Susan Happersett

Jordan Belson at Mathew Marks

Posted by Susan Happersett

Mathew Marks Gallery’s currently exhibition ” Jordan Belson: Paintings 1950-1965″ features 23 painting some never seen before) and 4 films. Jordan Belson was a renowned, ground breaking film maker. His work was heavily influenced by the psychedelic activities in San Francisco during the 1950’s, but he was committed to the use of science and geometry in both his films and his paintings.

“Porazzo Polyhedra”, casein, tempera and pastel on board from 1965 incorporates pentagons and octagons to form a sphere. This is a clear reference to Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes.

This “Untitled” painting also from 1965 shows the artist’s interest in circles and rotational symmetry.

Belson did not exhibit his paintings after 1950. Looking at his work today we can see his paintings were ahead of their time and foreshadow the work of painters in the late 1960’s and 1970’s

Susan Happersett

Call for Artist’s Statements for Journal of Mathematics and the Arts (JMA) Special Issue

Posted by Susan Happersett

The Journal of Mathematics and the Arts has announced an upcoming special issue devoted to artist’s statements. I will be editing this issue as a guest editor.

A lot of artists are not familiar with the concept of Math Art and I am often asked what is Math Art? Here is my definition: In order to be considered Math Art, art work must meet one or more of these three criteria:

(1) The work is created using mathematics,

(2) it presents mathematical themes,or

(3) it is expressing the effects of mathematics on society.

Any artist who makes work that falls into any of these classifications are encouraged to submit their statement for publication. You can find the submission guidelines here.

Susan Happersett

Alicja Kwade on the roof at the MET

Posted by Susan Happersett

Each Spring the Metropolitan Museum of Art unveils a new installation. This year the museum is presenting an Alicja Kwade”s installation titled “Parapivot”.The two steel and stone sculptures are based on perceptions of solar systems. Each is comprised of a series of rectangular black steel frames with stone orbs balanced on the beams. One structure features 3 intersecting rectangles and the other has 5 rectangles.

Here is the sculpture with 5 rectangles.

Each of the five frames are perpendicular to the ground. Looking at the work from a distance the view of the rectangular frames is distorted, appearing to be trapezoids and other irregular quadrilaterals.

Focusing on the intersecting lines of the bases of the rectangles helps to understand how the shapes have been arranged in space. Building a 3-D steel line drawing to create flat open planes juxtaposed with the weightiness of the stone spheres Kwade presents questions of perception.

Susan Happersett