Field
328 NW Broadway #114 Portland OR 97209 503.810.4788 fieldgallery@comcast.net
- P R E S S R E L E A S E -
Fluorescence, brighter than white
March 17, 2003
Field is pleased to announce Fluorescence, brighter than white, an exhibition
of artists from Portland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and New York selected by
curator Muriel Bartol and Field director Michael Oman-Reagan. The exhibition
will premiere with a First Thursday reception April 3, 2003 from 6p –
10p. The show will remain on view until Saturday, May 31.
Subtle fluorescence may initially seem like a contradiction in terms, however,
these are the ideal words by which to describe the use of this shivering brightness
in the work of artists Jacqueline Ehlis, Michael Paul Oman-Reagan, Jeff Jahn,
Brad Adkins, Edie Tsong, Joseph DelPesco, Muriel Bartol, Mike Rausch, Sarah
Dis, Brian Block, Adrian Gaut, Don Jones, Adam Raabe, and Megan Walsh. This
group of artists have reconsidered these vibrating colors, rescued them from
the garish wreck known as “the ‘80s” and in the process have
created elegant, intelligent and surprisingly restrained work.
In 1955 Flashe, the first manufacturer of artists’ synthetic pigments,
introduced fluorescent paint to the art world. It was not until the 1980s, however,
that artists such as Peter Halley, John Tremblay, and James Hayward brought
fluorescence to prominence in the visual arts. These artists used the colors
in only the most obvious manner; they made use of the unusual brightness but
failed to consider its effects on light.
When light shines on fluorescent paint the molecules convert high energy ultraviolet
light into electromagnetic waves within the visible spectrum. Because fluorescence
transforms invisible light into visible light-waves it appears to shine from
within. It was not until Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe painted the side of a canvas with
fluorescent pigment that this subtle property was finally utilized. In Gilbert-Rolfe’s
body of paintings the hyper-brightness of the paint is not only seen directly;
a halo reflecting from the paint is apparent on the wall. The effect of casting
light onto the wall works to extend the painting beyond its physical boundaries.
This casting effect is similar to Dan Flavin’s colored fluorescent tubes
although remarkable because it is achieved without the use of an internal light
source. In effect, this use of fluorescence is parallel to Robert Irwin’s
use of shadow; both methods employ only the effect of light on the artwork to
expand it spatially.
It is, therefore, the Light and Space movement that is the direct legacy of
the artists in this exhibition. Halley, Tremblay, and Hayward may have used
the same materials, but it is their consideration of the unique properties of
fluorescence that truly set this contemporary group of artists apart from their
‘80s predecessors.
With uninhibited modesty and restrained exuberance artists Michael Paul Oman-Reagan,
Jeff Jahn, Brad Adkins, Mike Rausch and Sarah Dis present a selection of sculptural
objects. Post-minimal artist Oman-Reagan courts the pathetic of material to
create intimate objects that redefine subtlety and convey the after-image of
objectness. Jahn has created a delicate installation that plays with both material
and immaterial lightness. The photographs of Adam Raabe exhibit an ambitious
attempt to capture the elusive reflective quality of fluorescence on human skin.
Conceptual artist Jo DelPesco wrestles the mundane by highlighting a blank notebook
from cover to cover. Painters Muriel Bartol, Brian Block, Megan Walsh and Adrian
Gaut revel in fluorescence with a more traditional medium but with fresh and
unexpected results. Installations by Edie Tsong and Don Jones use the reflective
light of fluorescence to modify the architectural space of the gallery. A large
three-dimensional wall drawing by Jacqueline Ehlis demonstrates the power fluorescence
gives to the line. This simple element spreads through the gallery unifying
the planes of the architecture into a singular experience.
CONTACT:
fieldgallery@comcast.net
503.810.4788