Lygia Clark at MOMA

Posted by Susan Happersett

The Museum of Modern Art in NYC is currently hosting a huge retrospective of the work of Lygia Clark (1920-1988). Clark was a member of the Brazilian Constructivist movement. The walls of the first few rooms of the exhibition display the artist’s geometric abstract paintings. On platforms in the center of the gallery, an assortment of her hinged metal sculptures are on display. It is these sculptures I would like to discuss. There are a number of excellent reviews of the show online – the Brooklyn Rail is an example – but I would like to focus on the sculptures. Clark created these sculptures so that viewers could manipulate the shapes, creating different
forms, becoming part of the artistic process. At the MOMA show work tables are set up throughout the galleries with reproductions of the sculptures available for the public to participate. Photography is forbidden in these galleries so I decided to reproduce one of Clarks’s more simplistic forms using paperboard and tape and taking photos of my model.

Here is the construction process, in case you want to make one. You will need seven congruent isosceles right triangles.

Lay out four triangle to form a square and make three hinges leaving two triangles attached on only one side.

Take a fifth triangle and attache it to one those single attachment triangles so it is on top of the other triangle with one attachment .

Add the sixth triangle to the fifth so they form a parallelogram.

Turn the structure over and attach the seventh triangle to the fourth triangle from the original square so you have like a trapezoid. Now you can stand up the structure in many positions.

— Susan Happersett

Off the Wall in Chelsea

Posted by Susan Happersett

I discovered a very interesting trend at the Chelsea galleries this week. I found three different exhibitions where an artist presented drawings, paintings, or sculptures, but also built an installation work that protrudes off of a gallery wall.

Robert Curry at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery

Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery had a collection of Robert Currie’s perspex cases with monofilament line 3-D drawings.

9,772 inches of Black and Red Monofilament (2013)
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

In the sculpture “9,772 Inches of Black and Red Monofilament”, Currie uses a series of threads hand-strung in grids to form angled wedges of red and black that intersect at the center, forming an area of at what – at first – looks like disorder. Upon closer inspection the consistency of the patterns becomes clear. This work has a number of mathematical connections: The careful measurement of the monofilament is a defining factor in the title for this work. Currie uses a series of grid patterns to thread the work. There are intricate geometric shapes created within the cases. The finally mathematical connection is his allusion to Chaos Theory, where there is underlying order in what at first appears to be disorder.

At the entrance and in the hall of the gallery, Currie has installed a site-specific thread drawing based on the architecture of the room “12 miles 1647 yards of Black Filament”. This work explores the gallery space using repetitive straight lines.

12 miles 1647 yards of Black Filament
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

Mark Hagen at Marlborough Chelsey Gallery

At the Marlborough Chelsea Gallery, Mark Hagen has created an aluminum and stainless steel space frame installation named “To Be Titled Ramada Chelsea #3”, that climbs in front of his “To Be Titled Gradient Painting #35”. This geometric construction features cube formations meeting at star formations formed by 12 line segments radiating out from a central point.

: “To Be Titled Ramada Chelsea #3″in front of “To Be Titled Gradient Painting #35”
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

Ryan Roa at Robert Miller Gallery

The Robert Miller Gallery is presenting a group show titled “Six Features”. One of the artists, Ryan Roa, is exhibiting drawings that relate to fractions and geometry. In the same room he has created site-responsive installation that create a sense of movement within the space.

Site-specific installation
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

In his drawing “12X12 series #01”, Roa has drawn a multitude of equal line segments radiating out from two opposite corners of the square, creating two equal quarter circles that overlap along the diagonal.

12X12 series #01
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

In “12X12 series #02”, the artist uses the same technique of drawing equal line segments, but in this case they radiate out from the two left corners of the squares. The circles overlap to form a pointed dome shape. The right square is not completely filled in with lines: it retains the curves of the circle segments.

12X12 series #02
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

It is fascinating to me how Roa has been able to create two drawings with such different proportion shapes and energy using basically the same technique by only changing one parameter.

It is amazing that within the course of an afternoon walking only a few blocks I was able visit three installations of Mathematical constructions by artists with very different practices and techniques. By expanding their formats off the gallery walls, each artist has created an exciting space to engage with the measures, proportions, and geometries that make up their work.

Susan Happersett

Math Trends at the Whitney Biennial

Posted by Susan Happersett

The Whitney Biennial exhibition closed last week, but for those of you unable to visit the museum I wanted to briefly discuss a few examples of work with Mathematical implications.

Terry Adkins

Terry Adkins’ large wall installation “Aviarium” from 2014 was assembled using repurposed stacked cymbals. Adkins was a musician and the sizes of the cymbals were determined by the mathematics of bird songs. The horizontal columns of circles protruding from the gallery wall become a physical manifestation of sound.

Suzanne McClelland

In her diptych “Ideal Proportions” 2013, Suzanne McClelland explores the psychological and social implications of our relationship to numbers. McClelland’s expressive renderings of groups of Arabic numerals reveal the anxiety and judgement associated with numbers that refer to the weights and measures of the human body.

Shio Kusaba

Ceramicist Shio Kusaba has created a series of vessels featuring striking pattern work. I am particularly interested in her pieces that have grid patterns. The use of linear rectangular grids on the organ forms create a subtle juxtaposition between the curved surfaces and the lines. I find the spaces where the gridded sections meet in triangles fascinating. The concept of lines on curves is an area of geometry ripe for artistic exploration.

The Whitney Biennial always received a lot of attention and press. Now that the excitement and fan fare have concluded I wanted to offer some personal observations.

Book Launch Party – Box of Growth by Susan Happersett in collaboration with Purgatory Pie Press

Posted by Susan Happersett

I hope to see many of you at the launch party for my newest book, in collaboration with Purgatory Pie Press: “Box of Chaos” (eight interlocking sculptural interactive accordions).

Friday, May 30, 7pm

Shoestring Press

663 Classon Ave, Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY

Dominick Talvacchio at Matteawan Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

Matteawan Gallery in Beacon, New York is currently exhibiting works on paper by Dominick Talvacchio, in a show named “The Eros of Mathematics”. Talvacchio has a background and education in mathematics. His work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Europe. The visual dialog in his print and drawings express his interest in the inherent beauty of the order and structure found in mathematics.

Arcs Missing Arcs – 2012
Giclée Print
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

In the print “Arcs Missing Arcs”, Talvacchio has created a 4 by 4 grid of touching circles with only sections of the circles visible. These arcs create a series of graceful and organic curves. The viewer senses the existence of the underlying grid pattern, but is allowed to enjoy the sensual aesthetics of the segmented curves.

Kairovan Below – 2012
Drawing on paper
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

The drawing “Kairovan Below” features two elements. First, an underlying, lightly-drawn tiling. Second, a selection of line segments from the tiling, drawn in a darker black. The tiling has a four-fold rotational symmetry. Within this symmetrical pattern there are five-point non-symmetrical stars. The juxtaposition of the overall symmetry of the tiling against the not-quite-symmetrical stars creates an interesting tension. By making some of the lines darker and more pronounced, Talvacchio allows a simplified but elegant pattern to emerge.

Artist talk and reception

On June 1st from 2-4 at Matteawan Gallery there will be an artist talk and closing reception for “The Eros of Mathematics”. I will be there to participate in the discussion about the relationships between mathematics and art. All are welcome.

Beacon

Matteawan Gallery is located in Beacon. A small city north of New York City, situated on the Hudson River. It is the home of DIA Beacon, a museum dedicated to displaying long-term, large-scale gallery presentations of single artist displays, with emphasis on conceptual art and minimalist work. They have an excellent selection of Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings currently on view. I would suggest DIA Beacon as an excellent destination for a day trip for any math art enthusiast. While you are in town, check out the galleries on Main Street.

PULSE Show New York – May 2014

Posted by Susan Happersett

Sabrina Gschwandtner at LMAKProjects

May is the month for many large art fairs in NYC. I recently spent an afternoon at the Pulse Show. There were quite a few works that had mathematical connections. The geometric structures of quilts have frequently been discussed in books papers and lectures. Sabrina Gschwandtner has developed a unique process: instead of cloth, she uses segments of film footage. The LMAKprojects booth at the fair had some wonderful examples of Gswandtner’s work on display. The films for these quilts were produced between 1952 and 1982 and were documentaries about women and textile craft practices. Although at first the patterning in the sections of the work appear to be repetitive abstract patterning there is a actually a self-referential social statement imbedded in the “fabric” of each work.

Hearts and Hands Black Block 2014
Courtesy LMAKprojects NY

The work ” Heats and Hands Black Block” order 4 rotational symmetry, and an interesting repetition of the squares. The large center square has four times the area of each of the corner squares and is one quarter the size of the entire piece.This creates a great example of self-similar forms at play.

Amanda Means at Jayne H Baum Gallery

I am always looking for different ways geometry can be used to make art. The Jayne H Baum gallery booth had a display of the work of Amanda Means, who has incorporated grids into her photographic darkroom process. Means scratches the lines of the grid directly into the surface of the paper. Then, while listening to music she uses a pen light to manipulate the images.

Amanda Means Grid Abstraction 52 – 2005 Gelatin silver print, scored – 24″ x 20″ Courtesy Jayne H Baum gallery

In the work “Abstract grid” 51 2005 what I find fascinating is the way the scratches of the grid has effected the flow of the work. The valleys and the raised edges around the scratched lines have created the square gridded patterns forcing the free flowing quality of the pigment to conform to the underlying geometric structure.

— Susan Happersett

“Evidence of Absence” at ZieherSmith Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

The ZieherSmith Gallery in NYC current group exhibition is titled “Evidence of Absence”. Two of the artists in the show create work that uses mutated repetition of geometric shapes.

Ryan Mrozowski

Ryan Mrozowski makes wood blocks that are coated in acrylic and vinyl then they are held together in a rectangular frame. This creates a patterned plane or a 2D tiling pattern from 3D blocks. His assemblages give the illusion that all of the blocks started out the same size and shape, but they have been squished together and distorted by the limits of the frame capacity.

Courtesy Ryan Mrozowski and ZieherSmith New York
“Dark Blue, Red, Maroon, Green III” 2014

In Mrozowski’s “Dark, Blue, Maroon, Green III”, rows of isosceles triangles appear to have been compressed into a frame that is too small, distorting the geometry of what could have been a very repetitive geometric pattern. As the viewer I get the feeling that the order we associate with mathematical patterning has been disturbed and mutated. So it is the imaginary starting point of this pattern before it was compacted that holds the mathematical connections. Although the wood blocks are solid, there is the false appearance of plasticity that hold the memory of the geometrical starting point.

Adam Winner

Adam Winner creates minimalist paintings with a hand-made edge. Instead of brushes he uses palette knives, instead of a smooth solid canvas he pieces together torn linen canvas. He uses the rough edges of the linen to create straight lines. Winner is interested in the Golden Section and incorporates this into the proportions of his work.

Courtesy Adam Winner and ZieherSmith Gallery New York
Untitled 2014

Winner’s untitled oil painting above features a series of twelve concentric rectangles (including the outer edge of the canvas). This is a theme that has been explored by Minimalist artists including Frank Stella, but Winner’s unique technique breaths new life into the subject matter. Earlier interpretations of the parallel lines of concentric rectangles relied of the slickness of clean and accurate lines. This painting has rough not quite perfect lines created from the torn edges of canvas strips. I am always looking for work like Winner’s that revisits how mathematics has been used before, but in some way alters the process.

– Susan Happersett

Denise Bibro Fine Art INC

Posted by Susan Happersett

Henry Bermudez

Denise Bibro has two adjacent gallery spaces in Chelsea. The main Gallery and in a separate room, the Platform Project Space. On a recent visit, the drawings of Henry Bermudez were on display. Two of the drawings have very mathematical frameworks, that create structure for his freehand patterning. Bermudez is a renowned artist, who has exhibited extensively throughout the world. His work is included in many important collections. He represented his native country of Venezuela at the Venice Biennale in 1986. Bermudez takes inspiration for his art from pre-Columbian and religious themes. His black on white drawings are intricate and detailed with swirls of patterns.

Henry Bermudez
Square, 2014
pen and ink drawing, acrylic paint, paper
30” x 22”
Picture courtesy of the gallery and the artist

In the drawing “Square” the swirling pattern is broken up by a vertical line bisecting the paper and a line drawing of a square in the center of the page. The bisecting line creates a line of symmetry for the square. This symmetry seems to anchor Bermudez’s frenetic free-for-all of patterning.

Henry Bermudez
Center Piece, 2012
pen and ink drawing, acrylic paint, paper
30” x 22”
Picture courtesy of the gallery and the artist

The exuberance of pattern is also evident in the drawing “Center Piece”. This drawing again features the curls and waves of pattern. This time – however – the structure is based on a circle. The circle has been divided into two separate concentric rings and a center circle that is empty. The inner ring is divided in to six equal sections. The outer ring is also made up of six equal sections but it has been rotated 30 degrees. The two rings each have a different type of patterning. In this drawing you can really see Bermudez’s cultural influences. There is a connection to pre-Columbian calendars. Bermudez uses geometric mathematical frameworks to create order for his freeform patterning.

David Ambrose

In the main gallery there is a group show of ten artists titled “Process”. I was immediately drawn to the work of David Ambrose. He has a very interesting approach to working with paper. He first pierces the paper, making a multitude of tiny holes with raised lips. These pierces create patterns. When a pigment is then applied to this uneven surface it is forced to interact with the pattern.

David Ambrose
High Kente, 2007
watercolor on paper
30’’ x 22’’
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

The punctured patterns in “High Kente” have an architectural element. Near the top there is a circular form divided up into ten even segments. It reminds me of patterns found in both stained glass windows and Middle Eastern ornamentation. There are other sections of the paper with rectangular grids and other geometric forms. Some of Ambrose’s work uses lace patterning as inspiration. The piercing of this work creates a type of paper lace. Lace making is probably one of the most mathematical of all needlework. That mathematical sensibility has carried over to this watercolor on pierced paper .

— Susan Happersett

Daniel Canogar at bitforms gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

Bitforms gallery specializes in exhibiting work in the realm of new media and digital art. Daniel Canogar is known for his photographic, video, and installation art. He has exhibited extensively throughout Europe and the United States, including numerous site specific public art displays. Canogar’s current show at bit forms gallery is titled “Small Data” and consists of nine small installations. Each of the nine works include some sort of used personal technical device that the artist has bathed in an overhead photographic video projection.

In the work “AC, 2014” Canogar uses an old calculator with a broken screen. A black and white video presentation incorporating a series of LCD numbers, hand written mathematical formulas, as well as other images is projected onto the calculator. The scale of this work makes it a very personal statement about the tenuous and fickle relationships humans have with our electronic devices. The device is no longer useful for its original purpose, but the remnants of the numbers it displayed and the formulas it helped solve still linger. It seems to me that “AC, 2014” is not only about the technological apparatus, it is also a statement about society’s relationship with numbers and mathematics. The rows of glowing calculator numbers, as well as the scribbles of formulae – that accumulate and then recede – create a sense of anxiety.

— Susan Happersett

Pius Fox at Pablo’s Birthday Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

The German artist Pius Fox is having his first solo exhibition in New York City at Pablo’s Birthday Gallery. The title of the show is “We expected something better than before” and features wonderful abstract paintings, whose geometries are based on interior architectural elements. I have chosen two works that seem to me to have the most mathematical significance.

Pius Fox – Zeitland Schaft – Oil on Canvas – 2014
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

The first painting is “Zeitland Schaft”, an oil painting from 2014. This work features four rectangles. Each is bisected diagonally to form eight right triangles. What I find interesting about this work is how it relates to the work of Piet Mondrian and Kazimir Malevich. Malevich used the geometric forms as his subject matter: the paintings were traditional in the fact that, even though he was depicting abstract themes, they were still pictures of shapes within a background. In Mondrian’s square canvases the square itself becomes both the format and the subject. There is no longer a delineation between subject and artwork. I feel that in some ways Fox’s work is taking this use of geometric forms a step further. In this painting rectangles and triangles might – at first glance – seem to be the subject of this work, but in fact it is much deeper. The geometric shapes are a vehicle for Fox’s use of layers of color and his lush painting technique. The symmetrical properties of the painting – for example the glide reflections in the placement of the pink and yellow triangles – enhance the relationships of colors, making them seem to glow.

Pius Fox – Untitled (PF 1403-41) – Oil on canvas – 2014
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

The next painting I would like to discuss is an untitled oil on canvas also from 2014. I Particularly like the use of both line and solid shapes this painting. Dividing the rectangular canvas into four columns and four rows, Fox has set up an interesting grid to draw lines connecting the points of intersection on the grid. Lightly drawing in both diagonals of each rectangular grid cell, he fills in a dark isosceles triangle in the top half of each. This creates a strong pattern that superimposes the other lines of the painting. Behind the triangles there is a 180 degree rotational symmetry to the red blue and gold lines. Looking at this painting the viewer gets the feeling that it is about more than just the geometry. Again,the shapes are the language that Fox is using to convey a sense of place.

— Susan Happersett