PETER LODATO: DIAMONDS/DIVISIONS/VOIDS - Exhibition Catalog Now Available

Santa Monica, CA - William Turner Gallery is pleased to present, solo exhibition of exceptional new works by Peter Lodato, opening  January 13th, 2024. 

Peter Lodato’s (b. 1946) artistic journey reflects an evolution, from immersive light installations, to captivating paintings that explore the complexities of human perception over the course of his six decade-long career. In addition, Lodato would himself influence a number of artists, teaching Art History at Art Center in Pasadena, and University of California Irvine with notable students such as James Turrell and Chris Burden.

His initial foray into art consisted of environmental light installations,  characteristic of the West Coast's Light and Space movement in the 1960’s, which sought to transform physical spaces into immersive experiences for viewers. He credits the Roman Pantheon’s oculus for his interest in interpreting his experience. This body of work led to his inclusion in the 1981 Whitney Biennial.

As Lodato transitioned back to painting, he carried forward his fascination with perception, creating works that initially appear as austere, geometric abstractions but upon closer inspection, reveal layers, brushstrokes, and vibrant colors that play with space and depth. The dichotomy of vision—its capacity to both reveal and conceal—serves as a thematic cornerstone in Lodato's artistry. His reductive compositions, often featuring divided forms and bold colors, engage viewers in a visual dialogue between simplicity and complexity. Inspired by the Abstract Expressionist’s Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, Lodato's use of vertical bands of color draws viewers into the canvas, inviting them to experience the artwork both physically and transcendentally. Hard edges feather out into diaphanous atmospheric vapors, creating luminous, Color-field suspensions floating on a colored ground– the formal consequences appear to both recede and project, dematerializing the art object and simultaneously constructing a void of flat, hard-edge, matted pigment. The artists hand is evident in the textural materialization of paint executed with an expert hand. In reasserting the picture plane in favor of the flat form, the abstractions are not in fact “subjectless”, regardless of their  reductive nature, they are intended to elicit a deep emotional response and expose the paradoxical nature of human perception.   

Informed in part by Eastern philosophy, Lodato’s palette observes the color schema assigned to the various corporeal chakras and their corresponding color assignments. Red for example symbolizes the root chakra at the base of the spine, characterizing strength and vitality, whilst white on the other end of the spectrum, illustrates the crowning light of spiritual wisdom.    

Lodato holds a Graduate degree from California State University. His artistic contributions have been recognized through a solo retrospective curated by the Frederick Weisman Foundation (2000), and exhibitions at prestigious institutions such as PS1 in New York City (1978), Whitney Museum of American Art’s Biennial (1981), the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. His works grace esteemed collections in various public and private institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art. This extensive presence in renowned collections underscores the impact and significance of Lodato's artistic vision within the realm of contemporary art. He lives and works in Venice, California.

SHINGO FRANCIS Liminal Presence Exhibition Catalog

SHINGO FRANCIS: Liminal Presence Catalog Now Available

Shingo Fancis: Liminal Presence exhibition catalog is now available to view online on the occasion of his current solo show at the gallery. The hard-copy will be available in the coming weeks. 

Shingo Francis was born in Santa Monica, California in 1969. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pitzer College in Claremont, and a Master of Arts degree from ArtCenter College of Design, in Pasadena. Francis’ work has been exhibited in Japan, United States, Germany, South Korea, and Switzerland. He has been the subject of museum shows at the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, Sezon Museum of Modern Art, Ichihara Lakeside Museum, the Martin Museum of Art, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. He recently completed a permanent installation in the foyer of the Hermès Foundation in Tokyo and received the Fumio Nanjo Award in Tokyo. He currently divides his time between Los Angeles and the ancient coastal town of Kamakura, Japan.

Eric Johnson’s Madame X exhibition catalog will be available for viewing in the upcoming week. Thank you and happy holidays from everyone at William Turner Gallery.

VISUAL ATELIER 8 - An interview with Casper Brindle, Master of Light, Color, and Sensory Exploration

VISUAL ATELIER 8

An interview with Casper Brindle, Master of Light, Color, and Sensory Exploration

Image: Rob Brander for William Turner Gallery

Exploring the enchanting world of Casper Brindle
Jaimy Favela Le

Casper Brindle, a contemporary artist rooted in the 1960s & 70s Light and Space movement, explores the expressive possibilities of color, light, and form in his paintings. From vibrant technicolor to subtle monochromatic hues, Casper Brindle’s work consistently features a central focus, drawing viewers into enigmatic spaces of perception. Influenced by the Finish Fetish and Light and Space movements, he masterfully employs color reminiscent of Mark Rothko and Jules Olitski, creating immersive fields that evoke deep emotional responses.

Casper Brindle’s paintings, influenced by Southern California’s car culture, utilize airbrushed sprays for atmospheric depth, demonstrating a synthesis of diverse artistic sensibilities. Born in Toronto in 1968, Brindle, now based in Los Angeles, has exhibited internationally and is held in prestigious collections like the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation.

It is an incredible occasion to be able to chat with Casper Brindle about his awe-inspiring and sensory artwork! We would love to know what you think your child-self would think of you now as such an accomplished artist? What do you think little Casper would say to you? And what would he think about your expansive body of work? Is he glowing with pride?

Thank you for the kind words. I think Little Casper would be happy with my accomplishments so far. There is something innately childish about being a professional artist. Experimenting and “playing” with the materials in front of you. I could compare it to the feeling of playing with toys in the preschool sandbox. I am forever grateful to have had such a supportive mother, a terrific illustrator and designer in her own right. I’m deeply fortunate that I am able to make a living doing what I’m very passionate about.

What a wild trip it is to take in your illuminating works that seem to unfold more of themselves, the more you spend time with them and interact with the space them. We would love to know more about how you went from utilizing LED tubes for lighting up a painting to now being able to skillfully achieve an effect of illumination by using only color. What was the process like for you personally?

Yes, for years I was incorporating and embedding LED lights into my paintings and never really found what I was looking for. I was yearning for a certain magic, a more organic quality which the artificial light provided by the LEDs could never achieve. What most interests me is the manipulation of light, whether it be with refraction in an encapsulated form, such as the light glyphs, or using paints that intentionally transform as you walk around the works. Materiality is a primary principle of my practice as I have spent years experimenting with the applications of different materials.

Your work speaks to the auras felt when perceiving colors, light, a core, and atmospheric spaces. Contemplation about perception and connecting with the presence are a couple things that come from immersing oneself in your body of work. Do you think your work reflects these experiences from the living world or is it its own concentration of sensory conjuration?

Both. I think the materials are a grounding force for the pieces, whereas the treatment and color perception of the materials allow for the pieces to become almost otherworldly. However, the orchestrated fabrication of the pieces reflects the organized chaos of both the natural and the built environment that surrounds us.

What dream settings do you envision your colorful works in? Are there particular places in the world that you hope to bring your art to?

Of course, artists are always fantasizing about ideal settings for our work – Museums, major collections, within prominent public and architectural venues. I am no different and have been thrilled to have my work acquired and shown by museums, like the Weisman Museum, The Luckman, Lancaster Museum of Art, the new Frank Gehry hotel in LA and by a number prominent collectors. Looking ahead, I have an exhibition planned in Brussels at Gallery La Patinoire Royale, Valerie Bach, in April of 2024 and will be showing new paintings and sculpture that I am presently working on and excited about.

Soon following, I will be focused on my Los Angeles exhibition in September at the William Turner Gallery. Possibly less traditionally, I’d love to explore placing my work in “atypical” settings: a foggy forrest, a beach, a desert. Changing the context changes the piece. A glowing object in the middle of nowhere tells a much different story than a painting hung on a white wall of a gallery. Hmm, could this be a short film? You’ve got the wheels turning!

We also know that you are also a sculptor. Can you divulge a bit about how this way of creating your art differs in from how you approach making your paintings? Taking something that you typically form on a 2D surface to a 3D realm?

The three dimensional work is more of an elaborate, organized process, compared to the typical trance I’m in while I’m painting. With my paintings, I’m just going on rapid fire instincts in a meditative state. With the sculptural work it’s about logical problem solving. Like a puzzle. The Light Glyph sculptural works are expanded iterations of the Portal Glyph paintings -They just extend into three dimensions. Both explore the same theory, but within different mediums and materialities.

Maybe a comparable example is the painter as an actor and the sculptor as the director in theater or film. The actor is always reacting to a situation in front of them instinctively, but the director (sculptor) is planning the entire vision out before the production has begun. Two different processes for me, neither better than the other. Although, I enjoy the visceral process of painting more, both outcomes are equally fulfilling.

What does abstraction mean to you? Describe to us the way you philosophize the human senses in response to abstract visualizations that imbue a particular experience.

I’m in search of something beyond, something that can be truly simple and complex. Making my work is a selfish act, as I’m making the painting or sculpture solely for myself, to release it from my mind, without thinking about how they will be seen or felt. It’s a place where I can be hyper focused yet, in a meditative state. The artwork may be used as a conduit for the viewers own experiences, but I would never force a narrative onto them. Abstraction to me is being free of story telling or narration. To create a work based on raw emotions or even lack of emotions. Free of rules. The freedom to dance any way you like.

What does the process of dreaming up a painting or sculpture look like for you? Is it the case that the end result always matches the first drop of inspiration?

My paintings or sculptural works come to me usually in solitude, whether that be just before bed or alone in my studio. With my paintings, I may have an idea to explore, but rarely do they end up visually resembling my initial thoughts. I find in painting the decisions are made quickly and based on instinct. Sculpture for me is a much more thought out concept as you are dealing with construction and fabricating a well explored object with prototyping all while aiming to achieve the concept that was originally in my head.

What has been a major highlight for you as an artist so far? What sort of new things are you seeking to further your creative endeavors? Any personal revelations that you wish to share over the years?

My highlights constantly change as I grow, but a recent noteworthy highlight was working with Mika Cho who curated my Museum exhibition at The Luckman space at California State University Los Angeles. It was a phenomenal show and experience. Cho’s execution
and presentation were terrific. Constantly thinking of new ideas, projects, materials and collaborations, I know there is always something inspiring around the corner. It’s important to do the work you enjoy as opposed to chasing trends. I believe that if you do your own thing, a thing you are truly passionate about, everything will eventually fall into place.

ARTNOWLA - Andy Moses: Recent Paintings

William Turner Gallery will present Andy Moses: Recent Paintings, a compelling exhibition of new large-scale works by Los Angeles-based artist, Andy Moses. The exhibition will run from September 9th through November 11th, 2023.

Andy Moses: Recent Paintings is an excitingly ambitious new body of work, showcasing an artist fully engaged and at the height of his creative process. Blurring the line between abstraction and a new kind of pictorialism, Moses utilizes techniques that facilitate his almost obsessive study of the alchemical properties of paint. The paintings that emerge articulate the abstract nature of perception, reaching beyond the material and tapping into the visceral.

The images reveal undeniable traces of natural phenomena, seeking not to replicate the natural world, but rather to suggest the forces of nature itself. The artist’s complex process of mixing and pouring paints conveys a sense of undulating energies pushing and pulling within the rectilinear and circular forms of the canvases themselves.

The paintings are sweeping and luminescent, their lustrous surfaces seemingly executed with an impossible combination of absolute precision and wild improvisation. Meandering lines of psychedelic chroma oscillate between vivid sharpness and dissolving washes of color, achieving works of captivating presence. Viewing the work from multiple perspectives, one is swept into an interactive dance, as light plays across the surfaces in lustrous ever-changing hues.

Speaking about his work, Moses says, “I want the work to stop you in your tracks, to shake you out of your head and into the moment, into the present, where you can become receptive to a more meditative experience that hopefully begins to attune you to the transcendent beauty of the natural world.”

Born in Los Angeles in 1962, Andy Moses attended the legendary CalArts from 1979-1981, studying with John Baldessari, Michael Asher and Barbara Kruger. In 1982, Moses moved to New York where he worked as a studio assistant to Pat Steir and quickly became part of New York’s nascent art scene. Moses began exhibiting with Annina Nosei Gallery, shortly after Jean-Michael Basquiat. During that time Moses also developed close ties with artists such as Jeff Koons, Marilyn Minter, Rudolf Stingel and Christopher Wool, who were also just emerging onto the scene.

After eighteen years in New York, Moses returned to Southern California in 2000, where the change in coasts led to a significant shift in his work. In New York, the artist’s work had explored the macro / micro influences of nature, conveying a sense of gravitational and geologic forces. In returning to California, the scope of Moses’s work expanded, as he was once again inspired by the unique effects of light glancing off waves, and the vast sky-scapes he encountered on his daily drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. The artist began exploring materials that would capture the mercurial aspects of perception, where slight shifts in perspective would reveal dramatic shifts in impression. Accordingly, Moses’ work began to incorporate many of the qualities now associated with the Southern California Light and Space movement, where the work of art became less an “art object”, and more of a “catalyst” for one’s experience of what and how they perceived. Suggesting panoramic space, Moses began introducing concave and shaped panels to further investigate how light and its wave-lengths would curl and flex with refractive paints. These bold new paintings quickly found their audience and brought Moses to the attention of museums and major collectors alike.

Andy Moses’ work is included in the permanent collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Orange County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. He currently lives and works in Venice, CA.

ANDY MOSES: RECENT PAINTINGS - Saturday September 9, 5-8PM

ANDY MOSES: RECENT PAINTINGS
September 9 - November 11, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 9, 5-8PM

Greg Miller - The Da Vinci Questionnaire - Nostalgic Nods to Ubiquitous Tropes

Greg miller at work in his Austin, Tx Studio

Extracting familiar pictorial codes from the pop culture of his youth, Greg Miller – who divides his time between New York, NY, Fredericksburg, TX and LA, CA, and whose work is featured in numerous museum and private collections, with a volume of his writings, photography and paintings having been published in 2010 – plumbs his own psychological depths only to discover what makes him love work and life.

To view the online exhibition catalog for the show please click HERE.

Once Upon A Time

Exhibition Catalog now available Online and in Print. Please contact the gallery for a copy of the print version.

GREG MILLER: Once Upon A Time - Exhibition Video

Please enjoy this short video highlighting work from the exhibition. To view the exhibition catalog please press the button below.

TOMORROW AT BERGAMOT STATION

Greg Miller Exhibition Walk-through, Cello Performance & Summer Block Party This Saturday

William Turner Gallery would like to invite you to an exhibition walk-through and special musical performance by renown cellist Jernej Copic this Saturday, July 15 beginning at 2:30PM.  

Jernej Copic will perform at 2:30 for one half hour and then again following the talk at 3:30.  William Turner will guide the discussion starting at 3pm. 

Also this Saturday Bergamot Station will host its annual Summer Block Party featuring food trucks, musical performances, and special menu items from Bergamot Station’s newest culinary addition Le Great Outdoor.

SHINGO FRANCIS + FONDATION D'ENTERPRISE HERMÉS TOKYO

Le Forum is an exhibition space housed in a glass-brick building designed by Renzo Piano. Flooded with natural light that forms an integral part of its identity, it is an oasis of contemplation inviting visitors to discover contemporary art in the heart of Tokyo’s dynamic Ginza neighbourhood. Directed by exhibition curator Reiko Setsuda, Le Forum offers an international programme bringing Japanese artists together with others from all over the world.

What is “interference”? Under this title, the first exhibition of 2023 invites the public to find answers through experience. Four artists explore our perceptions through the effects on the body of stimuli such as light, vibrations or soundwaves. Through stripped-back aesthetics, each of these artists highlights the subtle variations caused by the interferences to which our bodies are subjected in everyday life. Visitors are invited to contemplate the nature of perception through deeply felt sensations both physical and unconscious. The title, “Interference”, is borrowed from a series of paintings by artist Shingo Francis (b. 1969, United States): containing pigments that interfere with light, the colours of these canvases shift according to the viewer’s position. Nearby, an installation by Susanna Fritscher (b. 1960, Austria) immerses the viewer in a sensory experience of vibrations and pulsations beyond the frequencies that we are capable of hearing. Finally, Bruno Botella (b. 1976, France) presents pieces that stimulate our subconscious perception through tactile sensation, while Aiko Miyanaga (b. 1976, Japan) invites visitors to embark on a cosmic journey – the ultimate sensation, transcending time and space – through a tea ceremony shared online.

Alex Couwenberg: SuperGlide - Exhibition Video

View the exhibition video for Alex Couwenberg SuperGlide. To view the digital exhibition catalog please press the button below.

ARTILLERY MAGAZINE - RACIAL RECKONING Mark Steven Greenfield Illuminates the Black Experience - By Clayton Campbell

ART NOW LA / SIMON BIRCH and The Da Vinci Questionnaire

The artist at 14th Factory Hong Kong, photo by Scott Sporleder

British-born, Hong Kong-based Simon Birch, who has been awarded the prestigious Louis Vuitton Asian Art Prize and the Sovereign Asian Art Prize, and whose work has encompassed sculpture, painting, photography, performance, video and large-scale multi-media installation projections – often guiding the viewer through narrative sequences – plumbs his own psychological depths only to discover what makes him love work and life.

What historical art figure would you like to have lunch with and why? Caravaggio…drunken adventures, brawling, insulting the beast, the guy carried a sword and cut some guys balls off..all while painting some of the most brilliant works in human history….would be a colorful lunch.

What did you purchase with the proceeds from your first sale? A 1980 Ferrari Mondial. Sounds extravagant but was barely running and only cost about $10k. I eventually rolled it on purpose for a video installation for my project in LA, The 14th Factory. The stunt team, cameras, lighting, etc, was far more expensive than the car. The car became a video installation and 300 sculptures cut from the wreckage, and a photography work by Stanley Wong. Far more valuable than the original car and also shared as art for all.

What words or phrases do you overuse? That’s what she said!

Coachwhip SuperCharger, 49"x100” & Shutdown Danger Pink, 78.7" x 78.7"

How do you know when a work is finished? No work is ever finished, it’s just a stepping stone that brings you closer and closer to making something decent, I hope. Still working towards making good art. As one progresses, you learn, and realise how little you know, and how you lean on all of art history, consciously or not, especially painting but now, more so for me, concept driven work. So you feel at once excited to create something new, and defeated because it’s all been done. One of my first impactful criticisms was that my work is stylized and derivative. I agree but then what isn’t? Working on it. But also making the art I am compelled to make, while being more and more self, and historically, aware.

When and where were you happiest? Strangely, one of my happiest times was when I was closest to death. Something about clarity of mission. I was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but woke up the next day knowing I could crush it and received overwhelming and rapid support. I invited anyone I thought was a real friend to dinner to announce my situation (yes, all about me!) and asked for help. Only 1 of those 20 people walked away. Seeing all these people help with research, shopping and delivering supplies, taking me to hospital, working together on a survival plan….though it was life or death, it showed me who my real friends are, then and forever since. I’m happy to have passed on my process, network, advice, to many people ever since and ever more.

He Willed Himself Into Passivity, Became the Passenger Behind Her Eyes, 72”x72”

What is your most treasured possession? I possess nothing, so it’s not so relevant. Maybe my answer, cliche as it is, friends and memories. I’ve had a very rich life to be grateful for, but also lost so much over many years, had to sacrifice so much to try to achieve my goals – apartment, cars, artworks, vacations, all gone….in pursuit of something truly great. My new project, that is still very much in the balance.

Where is your ideal escape destination? Oh, that’s easy, escape to see my godson in Australia, my goddaughter in Denmark, my mum in London and a few other jokers along the way.

What’s the worst survival job you’ve ever had? I was a bouncer at a rough club in the Midlands in the late 80’s. Seeing blood many nights, and occasionally my own, was a clear message to get away from that environment. Even my brother got stabbed, lost 5 pints of blood and should have died. He’s fine now. Other friends, not fine. Second place was working in a factory on the production line, same thing every day, just awful. Bring on the robots.

What TV series from your youth best describes your approach to life? We were poor, so TV access was rare. I’d say more influential was my addiction to comic books. The Dark Knight, V for Vendetta, Watchmen, Sandman….outsider heroes. All of those influences have made me try to be and do good and also obsess about drawing and painting the human figure.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? A lot of things! But all the things I would change are repercussions from my upbringing, and if I could change that, I would have gotten decent education, mentorship and opportunity.

 What is your most treasured memory? Too many. Hiking through Iceland. Surfing waves of consequence with my BFF. Freediving to the darkest depths. Making a good painting. Falling in love. Maybe one of the nicest was, after recovering, helping a friend who was desperately ill, and seeing him survive. I still claim I saved his life when we bump into each other but the truth is, it was all him.
What makes you smile? Grease, the movie. Queen at Live Aid, Bill Hicks, David Cross, Prince, School of Rock, Ricky Gervais, Fawlty Towers, Public Enemy, Star Wars….and a million other movies and TV shows….my dog Frankenstein, all my friends constantly mocking me.

 What makes you cry? Everything. The more you know, the more empathy and clarity you have, the more you realize there are endless real-world problems that could be so easily fixed. But we are far from utopia and corporations, media and governments have all the power and seem corruptly intertwined.

What is your go-to drink when you toast to a sale? Old Fashioned. Sale or not.

After an all-nighter, what’s your breakfast of champions? I don’t do all-nighters, too old for that, we are all into Brazilian Jiu jitsu, so we eat well, rest, which works for mind and body. Plus my current project is all absorbing so there’s no days off.

Who inspires you? Boyan Slat.

Money Folder, 86.6" x 86.6"

What’s your best quality? Maybe rushing into the fray to help a stranger. Quite recklessly but it’s been a recurring thing in my life, being confronted with an urgent crisis in the street and just diving in.

What’s your biggest flaw? Maybe same as previous question.

 What is your current state of mind? Utterly stressed. My last project was The 14th Factory in Los Angeles. I nearly went bankrupt, and ended up in hospital afterwards from exhaustion. It was well loved, so I’ve been encouraged to develop the next one ever since. I was close to delivering project 2 in London then COVID hit.

I retreated to Hong Kong and looked at space here and went through many ups and downs. Now I have a huge site, 250,000 square feet, and have raised some capital but not enough. Even with an exceptional team and concept, I’m struggling to find the final funding to make it happen. As I write this it may all come together in the next two weeks, or it’s canceled and I have to start from zero yet again.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? My ability to use the phrase, ‘That’s what she said,’ in every conversation.

Mark Steven Greenfield Catalog Signing & Talk - THIS SATURDAY!

Photograph By Tony Pinto

Join Mark Steven Greenfield & William Turner for a conversation & walkthrough of Greenfield's current exhibition, HALO.

SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2022

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
3:00 Refreshments
3:30 Walk through begins 4:15 Catalog signing

MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD 

Mark Steven Greenfield is a native Angelino, and son of a Tuskegee Airman, which led to spending the first part of his life abroad, living on military bases from Taiwan to Germany, until returning to LA at the age of ten. In high school Greenfield studied with revered Los Angeles artist, John T Riddle. Riddle quickly noted Greenfield’s talent, but saw that he was vulnerable to the influences and dangers confronting black youth at the time.  Riddle remarked, "You could be a pretty good artist....if you live that long.” This got Greenfield’s attention and set him on the path that would define the course of his life. 

Greenfield went on to study with Charles White, at Otis Art Institute, and received his Bachelor’s degree in Art Education in 1973 from California State University, Long Beach and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from California State University Los Angeles in 1987. 

This year, Greenfield’s work was the subject of a 20-Year retrospective at the Museum of Art & History in Lancaster, CA, from which the The Crocker Museum of art acquired a piece for their permanent collection. 

Greenfield’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States most notably with a comprehensive survey exhibition at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles in 2014, and in 2002 at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Internationally, he has exhibited at the Chiang Mai Art Museum in Thailand; at Art 1307 in Naples, Italy; the Blue Roof Museum in Chengdu, China; 1333 Arts, Tokyo, Japan; and the Gang Dong Art Center in Seoul, South Korea. 

Greenfield is a recipient of the L.A. Artcore Crystal Award (2006) Los Angeles Artist Laboratory Fellowship Grant (2011), the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship (COLA 2012), The California Community Foundation Artist Fellowship (2012), the Instituto Sacatar Artist Residency Fellowship in Salvador, Brazil (2013) , the McColl Center for Art + Innovation Residency in Charlotte, North Carolina (2016) and Loghaven artist residency in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2021. He was a visiting professor at the California Institute of the Arts in 2013 and California State University Los Angeles in 2016. 

From 1993-2011, Greenfield worked for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, and later as director of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park. He has served on the boards of the Downtown Artists Development Association, the Armory Center for the Arts, the Black Creative Professionals Association, the Watts Village Theatre Company and was past president of the Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825. He currently teaches drawing and design at Los Angeles City College, and serves on the board of Side Street Projects, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition (LACE) and the Harpo Foundation. 

WTG EVENT - IN CONVERSATION: with MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD

Mark Steven Greenfield, Califia, 2022, gold leaf and acrylic on wood panel, 30" x 56"

Join Mark Steven Greenfield & William Turner for a conversation & walkthrough of Greenfield's current exhibition, HALO.

SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2022 / 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm 
3:00 Refreshments
3:30 Walk through begins
4:15 Catalog signing

Join Mark Steven Greenfield & William Turner for a conversation & walkthrough of Greenfield's current exhibition, HALO.

The two will discuss Greenfield's artistic practice and rooted engagement with the social and political issues involving race and racial identity. The conversation will address issues surrounding colonialism, slavery, and their impact on the historical record and will involve many of the individuals featured in the exhibition who have been marginalized and omitted from accepted narratives.     

Additionally, Mark Steven Greenfield will be signing our new Halo exhibition catalog for any who wish to acquire one.

Rewards Program, 2021, gold leaf and acrylic on wood panel, 24" x 36"

About Mark Steven Greenfield: With a 2022 acquisition by the Crocker Art Museum, a 20-year museum Survey Exhibition at the Museum of Art & History in Lancaster, a coveted residency at Log Haven in Knoxville, TN and critical acclaim for his recent exhibitions, Black Madonna & Halo, Greenfield has been on the kind of career roll that artists dream of. That Greenfield has managed to develop a major body of work and career, while also contributing significantly to the arts and culture of Los Angeles, is a testament to his dedication and practice. From1993-2011, Greenfield worked for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, and later as director of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park. He has served on the boards of the Downtown Artists Development Association, the Armory Center for the Arts, the Black Creative Professionals Association, the Watts Village Theatre Company and was past president of the Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825. He currently teaches drawing and design at Los Angeles City College, and serves on the board of Side Street Projects. His work is in numerous museum and public collections.

HALO Exhibition Catalog Now Available

MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD
HALO

April 30 - July 9, 2022

Mark Steven Greenfield: “I am reimagining what a saint is.”

- Mark Steven Greenfield speaking about the legendary, mythic, and often little known, black figures featured in HALO, on view now through July 9, 2022 at William Turner Gallery, in Santa Monica,CA. 
This online exhibition catalog for HALO, and forthcoming printed first edition, features the artist’s lustrous paintings and the illuminating background stories  which accompany each portrait.

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To order an advance copy of the print edition of HALO contact the gallery at 310-453-0909 or info@williamturnergallery.com

MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD 

Mark Steven Greenfield is a native Angelino, and son of a Tuskegee Airman, which led to spending the first part of his life abroad, living on military bases from Taiwan to Germany, until returning to LA at the age of ten. In high school Greenfield studied with revered Los Angeles artist, John T Riddle. Riddle quickly noted Greenfield’s talent, but saw that he was vulnerable to the influences and dangers confronting black youth at the time.  Riddle remarked, "You could be a pretty good artist....if you live that long.” This got Greenfield’s attention and set him on the path that would define the course of his life. 

Greenfield went on to study with Charles White, at Otis Art Institute, and received his Bachelor’s degree in Art Education in 1973 from California State University, Long Beach and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from California State University Los Angeles in 1987. 

This year, Greenfield’s work was the subject of a 20-Year retrospective at the Museum of Art & History in Lancaster, CA, from which the The Crocker Museum of art acquired a piece for their permanent collection. 

Greenfield’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States most notably with a comprehensive survey exhibition at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles in 2014, and in 2002 at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Internationally, he has exhibited at the Chiang Mai Art Museum in Thailand; at Art 1307 in Naples, Italy; the Blue Roof Museum in Chengdu, China; 1333 Arts, Tokyo, Japan; and the Gang Dong Art Center in Seoul, South Korea. 

Greenfield is a recipient of the L.A. Artcore Crystal Award (2006) Los Angeles Artist Laboratory Fellowship Grant (2011), the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship (COLA 2012), The California Community Foundation Artist Fellowship (2012), the Instituto Sacatar Artist Residency Fellowship in Salvador, Brazil (2013) , the McColl Center for Art + Innovation Residency in Charlotte, North Carolina (2016) and Loghaven artist residency in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2021. He was a visiting professor at the California Institute of the Arts in 2013 and California State University Los Angeles in 2016. 

From 1993-2011, Greenfield worked for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, and later as director of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park. He has served on the boards of the Downtown Artists Development Association, the Armory Center for the Arts, the Black Creative Professionals Association, the Watts Village Theatre Company and was past president of the Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825. He currently teaches drawing and design at Los Angeles City College, and serves on the board of Side Street Projects, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition (LACE) and the Harpo Foundation. 

Mark Steven Greenfield HALO - Opening Saturday @ William Turner Gallery

CALIFIA, 2022, gold leaf & acrylic on wood panel, 30”x56”

Santa Monica, CA- William Turner Gallery is pleased to present, Halo, an exhibition of exquisite new work by Mark Steven Greenfield.

Halo presents an amazing cast of historical black figures, most of whom were legendary and mythic characters in their time, but have been nearly lost to the vagaries and biases of history as seen through a white lens. With Halo, Greenfield brings the stories of Black folk-saints, martyrs, freedom-fighters, survivors, magicians, and visionaries back into view. Many of the figures are from the 1400-1800s, a timeframe that corresponds with Europeans beginning to use racial distinction as a tool to justify slavery. Greenfield honors their simultaneously disturbing and astounding lives by bestowing them with halos, traditionally seen as reverential symbols of adoration and respect.“I am reimagining what a saint is,” Greenfield says. “Maybe in studying their stories, they can inform us on better ways to live.”

Halo is a rich representation of the complexities of the historical Black identity. The figures in the paintings emerge from a variety of geographic locations, time periods,  stages of life and levels of freedom - each representing a person who was nearly blotted out from written history despite their incredible feats of attributed miracles and accomplishments.

This striking new series evolved as a natural progression from Greenfield’s previous exhibition, Black Madonna, which re-imagined the unique religious icons of a black Virgin Mary and baby Jesus in ways that spoke to the moment. They made their sensational debut at the gallery in the fall of 2020. Halocontinues in the Byzantine style of the Black Madonna icons, presenting us with fascinating historical figures, rendered in rich detail and set in circular tondo’s. The lustrous gold leaf backgrounds, like the halos, seek to elevate the figures to a more hallowed stature.

Zumbi dos Palmares, 2022, gold leaf & acrylic on wood panel, 20”x16”

Throughout his career, Greenfield's work has dealt with elucidating the African American experience - examining stereotypes and other acts of oppression, often by illuminating the most oppressive of acts - those of omission. Halopresents us with powerful images of figures and events neglected by history. Greenfield's images like those of Rebecca Cox Jackson, Solitude of Guadalupeand Zumbi dos Palmares, compel us to learn their stories. 

Of the subjects in this series, Zumbi dos Palmares (1655 – 1695) is perhaps one of the best known. Zumbi was a pioneering Afro-Brazilian resistance leader and today a symbol of liberation from Brazil’s Portuguese colonists. Thought to be a descendent of central African royalty, he became a military leader to a ‘quilombo,’ or self-sustaining community of escaped slaves referred to as ‘Maroons.’  

This exhibition feels uncannily destined for this moment. It opens at a time of unprecedented upheaval, where continuing racial inequities, and a global pandemic, have challenged our institutions, and our perceptions of them, to the core. With Halo, Mark Steven Greenfield brings an important and timely perspective to the discussion. 

Moses Williams, 2022, gold leaf & acrylic on wood panel, 20”x16”

MARK STEVEN GREENFIELD 

Mark Steven Greenfield is a native Angelino, and son of a Tuskegee Airman, which led to spending the first part of his life abroad, living on military bases from Taiwan to Germany, until returning to LA at the age of ten. In high school Greenfield studied with revered Los Angeles artist, John T Riddle. Riddle quickly noted Greenfield’s talent, but saw that he was vulnerable to the influences and dangers confronting black youth at the time.  Riddle remarked, "You could be a pretty good artist....if you live that long.” This got Greenfield’s attention and set him on the path that would define the course of his life. 

Greenfield went on to study with Charles White, at Otis Art Institute, and received his Bachelor’s degree in Art Education in 1973 from California State University, Long Beach and a Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting and drawing from California State University Los Angeles in 1987. 

This year, Greenfield’s work was the subject of a 20-Year retrospective at the Museum of Art & History in Lancaster, CA, from which the The Crocker Museum of art acquired a piece for their permanent collection. 

Greenfield’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States most notably with a comprehensive survey exhibition at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles in 2014, and in 2002 at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Internationally, he has exhibited at the Chiang Mai Art Museum in Thailand; at Art 1307 in Naples, Italy; the Blue Roof Museum in Chengdu, China; 1333 Arts, Tokyo, Japan; and the Gang Dong Art Center in Seoul, South Korea. 

Greenfield is a recipient of the L.A. Artcore Crystal Award (2006) Los Angeles Artist Laboratory Fellowship Grant (2011), the City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship (COLA 2012), The California Community Foundation Artist Fellowship (2012), the Instituto Sacatar Artist Residency Fellowship in Salvador, Brazil (2013) , the McColl Center for Art + Innovation Residency in Charlotte, North Carolina (2016) and Loghaven artist residency in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2021. He was a visiting professor at the California Institute of the Arts in 2013 and California State University Los Angeles in 2016. 

From 1993-2011, Greenfield worked for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs as director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, and later as director of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Park. He has served on the boards of the Downtown Artists Development Association, the Armory Center for the Arts, the Black Creative Professionals Association, the Watts Village Theatre Company and was past president of the Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825. He currently teaches drawing and design at Los Angeles City College, and serves on the board of Side Street Projects, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition (LACE) and the Harpo Foundation. 

Mark Steven Greenfield: HALO
April 30 - July 9, 2022
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 30th 5-8PM

OPENING THIS SATURDAY 4-7PM - WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY

CURTIS RIPLEY
CHROMESTHESIA
Opening Reception: Saturday February 19, 4-7pm

William Turner Gallery is pleased to present Curtis Ripley’s most recent investigations into abstraction Chromesthesia. The exhibit is on view February 19, through April 16, 2022.

How does one visually qualify the sound of color, or conversely, the color of sound? Chromesthesia is a neurological phenomenon experienced in the synthesis of binary sensorial modalities (synesthesia) where sound and color converge into a joint perception. In his painterly choreographies, Ripley interprets this ephemeral phenomena where light dances and shadows play in concert, whilst color is given musical agency. He often cites music as a departure point in his process, evidenced in the working titles. The canvases are gestural expressions of events conducted into orchestrations of lyrical harmony as the eye traverses through fields of color.

Activating the canvas’ surface through visceral gesticulations, he employs a vast repertoire of painterly techniques to amplify the dynamism of the viscous medium. In the tradition of the Old Master’s, veil’s of glazed oils are washed upon washes whilst opaque pigments dissolve into gauzy vapors, simultaneously revealing and obfuscating. One’s gaze is drawn in-and-out as a lens’ aperture renders depth-of-field. The transient nature of the corporeal world is described through lingering films of atmospheric haze interlacing with solid volumes rendered in highly saturated pigments; this tension is achieved through varied processes of application and deletion. Vibrations are deftly strung from his palette as colors rhapsodize in polychrome hums and variegated tremors. Expressionistic drips dapple indiscriminately here, automatic splatters chance to rupture spontaneously there… calligraphic strokes animatedly reach to articulate into attenuated arabesques. Rhythmically the paintings pulse into sublimely syncopated interventions of color, light, space and motion.

Boundless forms are liberated into ambiguous spatial fields through intuitive placement. Improvisatory bits of miscellaneous paraphernalia - such as scraps of sheet music - are occasionally embedded in the paintings, imbuing a whimsical element of surprise. Void of academic hierarchies, he refrains from privileging space, favoring the spontaneity of improvisational arrangements. Resistant to strict interpretation, the paintings are nonobjective distillations informed by Ripley’s relationship with his environment. Inevitably there are loose associations employing a pictorial vocabulary, not limited to: sound, ambient light, landscape, seasons, sky, and architecture which are then dematerialized into symphonic arrangements of reductive forms and undulating color harmonies.

Breaking from traditional modes where the canvas is detached from its audience, these are rather, environments intended to engulf the spectator. Ripley instinctively unifies the subjective phenomena of color and sound into atmospheric poems intended to actively translate into an intimate experience uniquely spirited by individual perception.

Curtis Ripley was born in 1949 in Lubbock, Texas. He attended the University of the Americas, México D.F. in 1969; Texas Tech University, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1971; and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1975. Ripley served as a lecturer in 1975 at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; an Assistant Professor at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana from 1975 to 1977; an Associate Professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia from 1977 to 1985; an Associate Professor at California State University, San Bernardino from 1985 to 1986; and a lecturer at California State University, Long Beach from 1986 to 1987. His awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Artists Fellowship, 1979, and Juror’s Award, Zeichnung Heute, Kunsthalle, Nurnberg in 1983. He has had numerous solo exhibitions throughout the United States, has participated in a wide-variety of group exhibitions, and has works in several collections such as those of the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, California; J.P. Morgan Chase, New York; Federal Reserve Bank, Richmond VA; HSBC Private Bank, New York; Chemical Bank, New York City; Yokohama Royal Park Hotel, Japan; and The Ambassador Hotel, Taipei. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Casper Brindle Video by EMS

Thank you to EMS for this short exhibition video. To view the exhibition catalog clink the link below.

PRESS: The Argonaut Reviews LIGHT | GLYPHS

Photograph courtesy Brent Broza Photography

Casper Brindle is convinced that he’s putting out some of his best work yet in his latest exhibition at William Turner Gallery in Santa Monica.

The artist, who began painting in the 1980s and is a disciple of the Light and Space art movement in Los Angeles, has woven a Southern California influence through all his work, whether the hot rod and surf culture found in his earlier work or the pure light in his latest exhibition.

“I think the light in LA is different than anywhere else in the world,” Brindle said. “This will be my best show yet. I’m really proud of this show.”
The show is called “Light | Glyphs” and will be on display through November 5. The series contains 25 pieces of which 15 will be shown at William Turner Gallery.

“Light is a huge part of my work in general and especially this body of work,” Brindle said. “I would say it is as important as the materials that I use, even more so. These works came to fruition just playing with light and seeing what happens with other materials. I started with light itself and manipulated the materials to do different things and bring different energies.”

Brindle, who was born in Toronto, moved to LA when he was 6 years old in the mid-1970s and he has lived there ever since. He was an apprentice to the Light and Space pioneer Eric Orr. He has exhibited on a regular basis at William Turner Gallery for more than 10 years and this is his 7th solo exhibition with the gallery.

A surfer, Brindle is constantly observing the play of light on water and how it expresses itself with color. Many of the works were done during the COVID lockdowns, something that Brindle said worked out to be a great thing for a lot of artists.

“Everything went on the backburner,” Brindle said. “You didn’t have to follow deadlines. You were kind of like, now it is time to really play with ideas and research and do the things that you can’t do when you have commitments and things like that.”

To create the works in this exhibit, Brindle used automotive paints, pigmented acrylic and metal leaf. The final works are 3 feet by 3 feet by 4 inches. He used translucent sculptural boxes which he air painted with diffused colors through the frosted surfaces.

The light in the colored background reflects in a quietly dramatic manner. In the center of each piece is a glyph, inspired by hieroglyphs that were ancient modes of communication, where symbols or marks were carved in relief to convey ideas.

Brindle’s glyph is a three-dimensional rectangle that intersects the center of the translucent box. The glyphs have been described as a beacon cutting through fog – quietly dramatic.
“I’m fascinated with hieroglyphs and how they used them to communicate,” Brindle said. “I use that as kind of a vehicle to do this newer work with glyphs. They go back awhile in the paintings.

There is just something that a spirit bigger than us is speaking to us. When I look at just a single glyph, it is speaking to that bigger power. I found that fascinating to use in the work.”

With Brindle’s use of gold and silver leaf to create the glyphs, he feels they really lend themselves to telling a story and he wanted to further the investigation into glyphs with these paintings.

Casper Brindle, Light-Glyph II, 2021, pigmented acrylic, 74” x 44” x 12”

Two different processes went into creating the works in this exhibit. With the glyphs, he did a lot of preparation, research and models. The decision-making process was very conscious as from the start he had an idea of where he wanted to go with them.
The paintings, on the other hand, had a more Zen approach. Brindle would find himself in a meditative state, a state of calmness where he let the work take over.

“It is a meditative state where all of a sudden at the end of the day, you’re like, ‘What just happened?’” Brindle said. “It’s that kind of thing when you’re driving and then all of a sudden, you’re at your destination and you don’t remember how you got there. That’s the same feeling I get when I make the works. The day starts and then it is 8 p.m. and I’ve got to go home.”

Brindle said he doesn’t typically have a preconceived idea of what he is going to do with the paintings. He lets them paint themselves.

“It’s a constant trance-like state of making right and wrong decisions along the way,” Brindle said. “I don’t say I’m going to do a blue painting. I just start and make a number of decisions along the way and just kind of paint these paintings.”

Throughout the years and with individual paintings, his choice of materials has always changed and shifted, evolving until he gets to where he is now.

“That’s part of the process,” Brindle said. “The best part about making art is the process. Things are changing all the time until you get to a place where you are like, now I have it. I know what this is about.”

The trance-like state is one that he shares with those that experience his work. Brindle said he’s had a lot of reactions to his art, but the most common one is a sense of lightness and calm — a sense of their bodies decompressing and entering a meditative state.

He stressed the importance of seeing his three-dimensional work in person. It’s the only way to experience its depth and the way the light shimmers and moves. The large paintings shift as a person walks by them, inviting viewers to pause, to explore perception.

This is Brindle’s first major show since the pandemic delayed an earlier showing at the William Turner Gallery in 2020. He invites patrons to come and lose themselves in his meditative works, to let art minister to their hungry souls.”