Leslie Sacks Contemporary is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition Relief, featuring world-renowned artists John Baldessari, Joe Goode, Jason Martin, Jorge Pardo, Tom Wesselmann and Kwang-Young Chun. Relief examines the diverse constructions of these six artists as explored through the unique printmaking process pioneered by Los Angeles atelier Mixografia.
The Mixografia technique turns the idea of the two-dimensional edition on paper on its head and allows for experimentation and ingenuity beyond the convention of this medium. It opens up the arena for object-oriented, conceptual artists to further explore their ideas through a process that achieves deeply textured relief with very fine surface detail. The Mixografia workshop is an innovative institution that has worked with distinguished contemporary artists since its inception in 1968.
Such an example of the fine detail and texture of the Mixografia process is richly evidenced in Young British Artist (YBA), Jason Martin’s single-color relief editions, Untitled, Plates I-VI, 2010 (pictured left) which bear strong reference to his minimal paintings of sumptuous color-pigments. Martin utilizes the high relief of Mixografia to successfully achieve the sculptural, object-quality of his paintings. Similarly Korean artist Kwang-Young Chun pushes the medium in his series Aggregation, 2010 by creating a radical volumetric collage of blocks, which undulates in a puzzle-like wave across the picture plane. Never before has Chun been able to consistently transform these ideas into the print medium.
Cuban born artist Jorge Pardo expands on the scope of the Mixografia edition by fabricating a gilded light installation. In Untitled, 2006 (pictured right), Pardo presents an undulating deep relief diptych print on handmade paper burnished in gold leaf and incorporates light from within. It’s an elegant installation, which seeks to present the aesthetic and the utilitarian. Los Angeles based artist, John Baldessari also devises a stunning installation in his ABC Art (Low Relief), 2009 (pictured below). In a monumental print of 26 parts printed from a series of twenty-six individual copper printing plates, Baldessari constructs a dynamic illustration of the tools of language installed and configured as a typing keyboard. In keeping with Baldessari’s characteristic pairing of wit and wonder, image and association he allows the viewer to experience these ideas on a grand scale. This edition is the largest single group of prints ever produced by Mixografia.
Tom Wesselmann’s Seascape, 1998 exemplifies his mastery of both color and composition. In a departure from his mainly figurative style, the image is abstractly formed out of just a few sketchy lines. The energy of the lines efficiently delineates the scene while giving it the feeling of motion and change that suit the subject matter. Through the Mixografia medium Wesselmann further explores his interest in color, form and object. Seascape is a nod to the artist’s aluminum and steel 2-dimesional wall sculptures. Los Angeles, based artist Joe Goode, has long been interested in ideas of perception. He manipulates perception through experimentation of media and material. The Pollution Series, 1995 with Mixografia is reminiscent of Goode's early work where he layered many images with paint, then either slashed or tore the canvas or paper, commenting on the potency of the artist's "gesture". The end result is a truly visceral experience.
Hi resolution jpeg’s available upon request