An exhibition featuring Lauren Luloff, Cassie Raihl, William Santen. The paintings, sculptures and films in this show all share an experimental attitude veering into the enigmatic, while still being firmly rooted in physical materiality.
Thomas Erben Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition featuring three emerging
New York-based artists. The paintings, sculptures and films in this show all share
an experimental attitude veering into the enigmatic, while still being firmly rooted
in physical materiality. These artists are also connected by a tendency to repurpose
or refine common materials, effecting a change in perception of medium, meaning and
the material itself.
Lauren Luloff (b. 1980, Dover, NH) stretches and carefully manipulates textiles,
fabrics and bed sheets, often found in thrift stores, into colorful abstract
paintings. Fabric patterns effected through bleaching combine with expressive brush
marks, and cuts in the surface or transparencies reveal the wood of a stretcher as
an integral part of the work. The process is present in each piece through flaws and
production traces, while the spatial installation further enhances an immersive
experience. Luloff’s work connects with the Pattern and Decoration movement of the
mid-70s and early ‘80s, while carrying its own particular element of nostalgia, both
personal and communal.
Lauren Luloff received her BFA in painting at Pennsylvania State University (2001)
and her MFA at Bard College, NY (2010). Her numerous solo shows include venues such
as Horton Gallery, New York (2012); BUOY, Kittery, ME (2010); Sunday L.E.S. New York
(2009) and Black and White, Brooklyn (2007 and 2005). Tanya Bonakdar, The Queens
Museum and CANADA (all in New York) among others, have included her work in group
shows.
Cassie Raihl (b. 1983, New York) combines ready-made and carefully hand crafted
elements into sculptures which are precariously balanced, not only in a physical
sense but also in an experiential one. These assemblages borrow from items we
commonly interact with, such as a gym mat or a water cooler; objects which are then
refabricated in different materials, resurfaced, fragmented and put together in new
combinations. The result is an uncanny uncertainty as to the objects’ relationship
with reality, even though they are expressly physical.
Cassie Raihl attained her BFA at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
(2006), and her MFA at Bard College, NY (2010). Her most notable recent
participations include The Brucennial, New York (current); One Night Show,
Vaudeville Park, Brooklyn, and Ego the Living Planet, TaT Gallery, Berlin (both
2011); Knights Move, Sculpture Center and The Open, Deitch Projects, both Long
Island City, NY (2010). Thomas Erben Gallery included her work in QuietlyLoud
(2011).
William Santen (b. 1975, Lexington, KY) comes from an extensive songwriting and
painting background, now using film as a way to bring these two practices together –
the language, narrative, time and melody of song combined with the color, shape and
figure of image. As 16 mm film does not record sound, this has to be done
separately, and the relationship between sound and image is revealed and complicated
by their slight disconnect. The individual quality of each of these elements are
given equal weight, making the sound not so much an integrated part of the film as
something running parallel with the image. The process of cutting and splicing
remains present in the finished work, serving as an anchor to the physical domain.
William Santen received his BA at the University of Kentucky, Lexington (2009) and
his MFA at Columbia, New York (2011). As a songwriter he has released five records
with BMG Music, culminating with In the Night Kitchen (2004). Santen’s work has been
screened at Flux Factory and Nicole Klagsbrun, both New York, and internationally at
the Masc Foundation, Vienna, Austria, and Overgaden Museum of Contemporary Art,
Copenhagen, Denmark. His film A Song for You is currently on display at the Queens
International, Queens Museum of Art.
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 29, 6-8:30 pm
Thomas Erben Gallery
526 West 26th Street, floor 4 New York
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm
admission free