Crown Point Press presents Color: A Spring Exhibition, etchings by eleven artists whose use of color is intentional and dramatic. On view March 17 – April 29, Color includes prints by Tomma Abts, Mary Heilmann, Al Held, Jacqueline Humphries, Robert Kushner, Matt Mullican, Chris Ofili, Gay Outlaw, Pat Steir, Patricia Treib, and Charline von Heyl. These prints, with their grand gestures and vibrant colors, create a visual celebration.
British artist Chris Ofili brought photos and videos as source materials for the prints he made during his 2008 Crown Point project. Ofili lives in Trinidad. Rainbow is a set of twelve etchings that are delicate drypoints of cascading waterfalls, leafy palms, and figures bathing. By using the technique of spit bite aquatint, Ofili was able to create watercolor-like washes, and a layer of tinted thin paper in each print imbues the work with an ethereal quality. Though each individual print is subtle in both color and gesture, when seen together the group creates a jewel-like effect.
In Gay Outlaw’s 2019 etching, 3X3, everyday objects—a badminton shuttlecock, a worn umbrella, a wooden bench-like stool—are presented in a grid against a bright orange background. They are pieces of a puzzle, or perhaps a compendium of ideas. Gay Outlaw is a sculptor who often uses photography as a medium to create studies for primary work. The objects in this print were drawn by the artist from photographs.
Jacqueline Humphries is an abstract painter who conceptually connects her work to the cultural and social dialogue of today. She has been using emojis as a formal element since 2014. During her project at Crown Point in 2016, Humphries made ten etchings. The largest of the ten, : : : : : (red , is on view in this exhibition. The print’s graphic imagery was created in part by the use of stencils that the artist brought with her to the Crown Point studio. Loose brushstrokes fill the image area of the print with vibrant reds, oranges, and pinks while a structural pattern is created by a superimposed grid of dots. The final effect is one of kinetic energy and optical illusion.
Color is a primary element in Patricia Treib’s painting. During her 2016 project at Crown Point, she said, “Transparency and light are important to me—how the color sits on the surface. I couldn’t get to the surface, to see how the color will exist, until the very end. So, I had to do a lot of experimentation. I later realized that I didn’t want to approximate painting. I wanted to think about the etched plate for itself, to think about its range.” Treib is a master of form. Her use of repeated forms in these prints is balanced by wide, fluid brushstrokes in saturated and pale colors, creating both immediacy and deliberation The focus of the print Interval is a totemic shape printed in a stunning blue, with smaller pink and yellow ribbon-like shapes acting as bulwarks to prop it up. A winged black shape tilts on the right side of the image area, its form a comical gesture in contrast to the stoicism of the primary blue shape.
Charline Von Heyl’s etchings strongly reflect her approach to painting. She begins work without sketches or a plan, and generally relies on an intuitive abstract mark-making that has room for both humor and a defiant sternness. During her 2014 project at Crown Point, von Heyl used variations of a single image to make four very large prints collectively titled Nightpack. On view is Nightpack (Red, Yellow, Blue). Against a yellow background, a red anthropomorphic abstract shape twirls and swirls as if escaping from a blue square in the upper left corner.
Color: A Spring Exhibition is on view March 17 – April 29. The gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9-5. If you would like to visit on a Saturday, please call in advance to schedule an appointment.
