HOW WE SEE: MATERIALITY AND COLOR

CLAIRE ASHLEY / JEDEDIAH CAESAR / JEFFREY GIBSON / BARBARA KASTEN / ANNE LINBERG / ODILI DONALD ODITA

DATES

March 2–June 30, 2019

CURATOR

Dana Turkovic, Curator

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How We See: Materiality and Color presented six artists whose artwork activates the science of color through various combinations of materials and media, including drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and installation.

Artist Barbara Kasten builds sculptural photographic hybrids using brightly colored Plexiglas mounted to digital prints to create ambiguous architectures and geometric patterns using, mirrors, shadows and lighting effects. Jeffrey Gibson’s painting draws on his Native American heritage with vibrant abstract shapes and symbolic patterns bordered by an intricate beadwork frame. Laumeier has also commissioned Chicago-based artist Claire Ashley to create a new large-scale inflatable sculpture covered in neon spray paint that will be the centerpiece of three on-site choreographed performances with by community volunteers, introducing a playful and humorous sculpture into the Park’s landscape.

How We See: Materiality and Color investigated how each artist uses color and material to enliven and amplify artwork’s form, shape, and surface. Some artists deal explicitly with color and its possibilities in mapping space, while others play with the power of perception. Each artist calls attention to the precise material interplay of the natural and the synthetic, by creating objects that have inherent and manipulated qualities.

 Laumeier Curator Dana Turkovic states: “At first glance the exhibition is a straight forward chromatic display, however but scratching the surface a bit reveals more complexity. These artists’ colored materials are the product of modern technology in material sciences, but also ultimately derived from nature. This exhibition does more than show the beauty of color. It suggests that the artists’ production of countless color variations and applications is similar to nature in that both are subject to manipulation and change.”

SUPPORT FOR THE EXHIBITION

Laumeier Sculpture Park operates in partnership with St. Louis County Parks; projects and programs are supported by the Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Arts Council and the Arts and Education Council of St. Louis.

“How We See Materiality and Color Opens at Laumeier Sculpture Park” HEC TV, video by Paul Schankman.