Doing the Cannonball! – at frosch & portmann

Frosch & portmann is pleased to present CANNONBALL!, a group exhibition curated by Vicki Sher.

Inspired by the iconic call of summer, the swimmers’ cry of “Cannonball!” as they jump into a pool, this exhibition brings together artists who dive into specific territory while maintaining a playful spirit. The show connects driven and deeply pursued paths to the lighthearted attitude behind summer vacation.

Many of the artists connect to the show’s title with strong black shapes that pack a punch. In Don Voisine’s paintings and Lauren Seiden’s dense graphite works on paper, the viewer is drawn into the black surface to consider questions of space, balance and rhythm. Denise Kupferschmidt’s black drawings on tile bring to mind icons and talismans; at the same time they act as a lighthearted reminder of the pool’s edge. Paul Wackers’ still lifes use black for contrast, to emphasize the plant’s strong silhouette and power as a signifier of interior life.

Other artists connect to the laidback feeling of Summer. Joshua Marsh’s quiet, glowing paintings: a book, a pitcher and a door handle summon a narrative of quiet country summers. Gary Petersen’s brightly colored, hard-edged paintings and Ky Anderson’s dripping, layered shapes, offer the measureless possibilities of geometric abstraction. Here, line, color and shape have a confident formality but call up ideas as far apart as diving boards, pinball machines, mountain vistas, ice cream cones, and the Inner Eye. Tamara Zahaykevich’s lively sculptures use found materials as a spring-board to carefully considered constructions that manage to be generous, each small piece having numerous, even smaller bombshell moments, while they coyly withhold the private systems that shape them.

Cannonball! is a collective jump into the pool. Each artist plunges into her/his subject while feeling the ripple of activity in the room. Each distinct body of work claims a piece of its own, and shared, area.

Ky Anderson
Denise Kupferschmidt
Joshua Marsh
Gary Petersen
Lauren Seiden
Don Voisine
Paul Wackers
Tamara Zahaykevich

On View: July 26 – August 19, 2012 / Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, noon – 6pm
frosch & portmann. 53 Stanton Street. New York, NY 10002

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