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Press Releases - Martha Otero GalleryMartha Otero is pleased to present New York based artist Jeff Sonhouse's exhibition, ‘Better Off Dead,’ Said The Landlord. For his Los Angeles solo debut, Sonhouse deconstructs the accepted theories of ownership and invites us to reexamine how we interpret relationships of power, as tenants of an overbearing architect. With alluding portrayals of glorified facades, he creates a frictional energy of immortality.The exhibition will include Sonhouse’s recent portraits of oracular figures that evoke familiarity, such as “Papi Shampoo”, bearing a Jesus like stance and demeanor. We’re instantly drawn to the silky smooth satin textured vestment and its vividly deep aquamarine and violet colors. Draped over a brash black and white pinstripe suit with ashen hands in an iconic Pantocrator posture. The background palette harmonizes burgundy with black, phthalo blues and rich purples into a contemporary vision of a halo. Maintaining his ingenious approach to mixed media, we see meticulous hair constructed of matches and steel wool combined with composite figures of oil paint. Sonhouse’s unorthodox use of materials successfully disorients the viewers prescribed sense of space. Even more irresistible are Sonhouse’s masks and the intense gaze concealed behind them. Jeff Sonhouse was born in 1968 in New York where he currently lives and works. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and his MFA from Hunter College in 2001. He has exhibited at The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada; Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, NY; Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY; Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY; Samson Projects, Boston, MA; Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA; The New York Historical Society, New York, NY. Franz Ackermann and Richard Jackson Opening Reception: Saturday, February 21, 2009, from 6 to 9 pm February 21 – May 2, 2009 Otero Plassart is pleased to present an exhibition by Franz Ackermann and Richard Jackson organized by Chris Beas. PAINTING: the act of applying paint to a surface and its result When one hears the word painting, visions of rectangles hanging on a wall immediately come to mind, but for Franz Ackermann and Richard Jackson the issue of whether paintings hang on a wall, sit on the floor or are mounted face to face is irrelevant. Due the protracted relationship with the history of painting, the painter must inevitably come to the question, what is painting? Over time the questions of what and why are ultimately as relevant as why you drink tea instead of coffee in the morning. The artist, and perhaps the painter as well, are left with how. How is meaning generated, how is painting manifest, how is the work structured? These questions form the point of view from which the two artists participating in this exhibition were chosen; not based on the thematic qualities of their practice, but rather their praxis. Two distinct strategies at work, two distinct results, all using the act of painting to maybe or maybe not make a painting. Painting First: Franz Ackermann begins with the fundamentally traditional act of painting to create wall-scale images and mixed media constructions that eventually seep through the formal boundaries between painting, sculpture and installation. These settings, at once foreign and oddly recognizable, are the locus of Ackermann's Mental Maps. They render time, geography, sensations and impressions into color and volume. Painting Last: For Richard Jackson, painting is the final act. With his emphasis on craftsmanship, one might think Jackson to be a sculptor, but throughout his career he has shown a preoccupation with the process of painting. From his early output in the 60's he has worked to redefine the picture surface. Since the 1990's Jackson has created sculptures, machines and installations that spray, shoot and drip paint over the exhibition space. It is my idea to push painting, not just in size, but to see how far it could be extended or pushed. I don’t feel my work to be a criticism of painting but an optimistic view of what it could be. -Richard Jackson -Chris Beas Franz Ackermann was born in 1963 in Neumarkt St Veit, Germany. He lives and works in Berlin, DE. He is currently included in Altermodern: Tate Triennial 2009, Tate Britain, London, UK. He has exhibited extensively internationally, including solo exhibitions at Kunstemuseum St Gallen, CH; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, IE; Kunsthalle Basel, CH, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, NL; Castello di Rivoli, Turin, IT; White Cube, London, UK; and Portikus Frankfurt am Main, DE. Richard Jackson was born in 1939 in Sacramento, California. He lives and works in Sierra Madre, CA. He has been internationally recognized since Helter Skelter at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. His work has also been included in the 48th Venice Biennale and the fourth Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art; Iconoclash at ZKM, Karlsruhe, DE. He has exhibited at Hauser & Wirth Zurich, CH; Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois, Paris, FR; Yvon Lambert Gallery, New York, NY; and Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum fur Gegenwart, Berlin, DE. Back to dealer/gallery profile
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