Press Release
Cherry and Martin presents two booths for Art Brussels: a solo exhibition of Matt Connors’ paintings and, in the stand directly adjacent, the sculptures and wall works of Erik Frydenborg and Nathan Mabry.
In his first solo European presentation since “Gas…Telephone…One Hundred Thousand Rubles” at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Matt Connors exhibits at Art Brussels a major new series of works. Entitled “Flicker (3 to 5 color),” the series consists of six individual acrylic on canvas paintings, each with a colored frame chosen by the artist, arranged at the rear of the booth. Made in a group in Connors’ Brooklyn studio, these paintings trace the artist’s sustained engagement with painting and its practice, the materiality of the medium, its history and reception.
In the adjacent two-artist booth, Erik Frydenborg, whose work will be featured by Cherry and Martin in a solo exhibition at Art Statements in Basel this summer, exhibits a new, wall-based, "Codec" work. A term derived from computer software, a 'codec' is a program that compresses data for transmission or encryption, or that decodes it for playback. Fyrdenborg's “Codec” works consist of found and cast three-dimensional forms and have the appearance of bas-reliefs. His three-dimensional sculptural works, one of which will be on display, also present a range of modified and cast everyday objects. These objects are generally organized on plinths that Frydenborg uses sculpturally, rather than presentationally.
Nathan Mabry presents a new work in his “u.n.t.i.t.l.e.d.” group. This wall-based sculpture consists of found parts manipulated, cast and refashioned by the artist. In this case, two separate masks of the Mende people of Sierra Leone, each related to different parts of a woman’s coming-of-age ceremony, art brought together in one welded head. The base form is loosely drawn from the system used by Donald Judd to make his “Swiss Boxes.” Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources including archaeology, Dadaism, surrealism and minimalism, Mabry purposefully embraces different stylistic associations and makes references across the art historical timeline; in his own words, he “crashes” multiple aesthetics together.
Matt Connors (b. 1973, Chicago) had his first solo museum exhibition in April 2011 at the Dallas Museum of Art. Connors’ first solo European museum exhibition, “Gas…Telephone…One Hundred Thousand Rubles,” opened in October 2011 at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. In 2012 he will have have a two-person exhibition at Herald Street in London and a solo exhibition at Cherry and Martin. His work is the subject of a lengthy interview in the article, “Dear Painter…,” by Chris Bedford in the April issue of Frieze.
Erik Frydenborg (b. 1977, Miami) will be the subject of a solo presentation by Cherry and Martin at Art Basel Art Statements section in June. In the past year, Frydenborg’s work was the subject of solo exhibitions at the highly regarded curated space, The Suburban, in Chicago and at Cherry and Martin gallery in Los Angeles. His work has been reviewed in Artforum, Art Review and other publications.
Nathan Mabry (b. 1978, Durango, CO) will be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas in February 2013. His work is currently featured in “American Exuberance” at the Rubell Family Collection in Miami through July 27, 2012 and “Sympathy for the Devil” at the Vanhaerents Art Collection in Brussels through November 13, 2013. His work recently appeared in exhibitions at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
(Cherry and Martin archive)
Philip Martin gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11am-6pm and by appointment. For further information and images please contact the gallery at +310-559-0100 or info@philipmartingallery.com.
Philip Martin Gallery
2712 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
+310-559-0100
info@philipmartingallery.com
