Nice Press for Last Month's Expo at DLG-N + Art Talk Synopsis

Check out other articles & press for the show at the 4dpop's links page HERE - including this nice one by MiChelle Jones for the Tennessean.

Last Saturday's gallery talk (7-26) for the closing was good times. Folks from the Hermitage dropped by beforehand, plus old Nashville photog-artsy pal Mark Tucker - now in LA - & gallery artist Mary Hackett, Noteables' Scott Davis & a few others mostly listened patiently while I spent a half hour listing what I've been up to, since leaving the Music City in the early 00s, asked a few rhetorical questions about art & artists (1a & 1b = what is art/what is it for? 2b = who's an artist?), made a brief intro to 4D art, etc. Thanks to Dane & David & the DLG staff for the opportunity & support!

DLG [Memphis + Nashville Galleries' Summer X-trava-GonzO]

DLG will be presenting my small ink on poly Code Duello pieces in its flagship and new Nashville locations...

Code Duello, Old Hick & a Big Bang

A lovely installation curated by Dane Carder and David Lusk. The exhibition also features the animation "A Big Bang," which is projected onto the rear of the transition wall separating the main and second galleries. The opening was excellent and well-attended, coinciding with Wedgewood art district First Saturday Art Crawl (and the 4th of July weekend). The event featured a mixologist, who researched a special concoction related to Old Hickory. I hope to post some photos from the evening here soon. 

"Code Duello, Old Hick & a Big Bang" opens at DLG Nashville

In his first solo exhibition in Nashville in over a decade, on view at David Lusk Gallery from July 5 through July 26, Brooklyn-based artist Paul McLean will present a rich body of new paintings and supporting media focused on the life and times of President Andrew Jackson ("Old Hickory"), and other stories from the past, here and now. For “Code Duello, Old Hick & A Big Bang,” McLean will exhibit interlinking series of mixed media on canvas, sculptural or dimensional wall-mounted pieces and ink-on-polyester works, plus digital animations and texts. The show’s subject matter will cover a spectrum of compelling narratives, including President Jackson’s colorful and controversial history, the practice of dueling in America and the art and science of the universe’s origins, as represented in modern technology through computer-enabled data visualization. "Code Duello, Old Hick & A Big Bang" opens Saturday July 5, with an artist's reception from 6-9PM

Bazooka Joe Pink Old Hick / 55" x 50" / Acrylic and Ink on Canvas / 2014

McLean’s unique approach, which he has termed “4D,” or “4th Dimensional art” since the early 80s, provides an integrative framework for layered techniques, timelines, spatial concerns and concepts. Most of the images in “Code Duello, Old Hick & A Big Bang” consist of the figure on and/or in abstraction, but operate as a kind of perceptual projection device confronting space and time beyond the limits of strict 3D and 2D pictorial architectures. Throughout his career, McLean has created art in both solo and collective platforms, and in this exhibition, the artist partners with long-time collaborator Shane Kennedy, a Tennessee native and recent graduate of The Cooper Union. McLean and Kennedy created a series of innovative pull-paintings during a residency at Chanorth in upstate New York in Fall 2013, as part of the “Code Duello” set. Kennedy also prepared lush surfaces for some of the paintings for the Jackson series, and provided substantial technical support for McLean’s project. Additional fabrication services for “Code Duello, Old Hick & A Big Bang” came by way of the robust and bustling artisanal networks in Brooklyn, especially the Bushwick district, where McLean’s current studio is located. McLean’s impetus for weaving the Big Bang into the discourse underpinning the show arose from his doctoral course work at the European Graduate School, and an encounter with NYU’s Tim Maudlin, whose specialty is combining physics and philosophy in exploring the nature of relations to the cosmos. 

"Wallpaper" / 10" x 8" / Acrylic and Ink on Panel / 2014

Ultimately, “Code Duello, Old Hick & A Big Bang” is an exposition on questions we have about what it means to be “A Man of the Times,” how we stylize our experiences for the purposes of representation, and what we consider to be meaningful action. It is McLean’s general contention that the arts - and especially visual art - give us a worthy vehicle for sharing our most profound encounters with the complex world in which we live out our lives. The artist has the means to combine craft with theory to generate singular objects that simultaneously reflect and embody our perceptions of existence and what we value most. As a valuable expression the art thus conceived can be passed down, generation to generation, as an act of hope - a “real” reminder of, meditation on, and hedge against our individual mortality.

"Untitled" / Ink on Polyester / 2014

New AFH Studio, BOS2014 news, DLG-N exhibit update, & more

I moved into a new studio in Bushwick. It's an enclave for artists, and I love my new neighbors. I'll post more about the community soon. The production on my upcoming exhibit at David Lusk Gallery in Nashville has commenced. For those of you keeping track, the timing of the show has been changed. The exhibit [working title: "Code Duello, Old Hick + A Big BANG"] has been pushed back to the first week in July. Also, this will be a solo exhibit, now (not a two-person show). 

"COOL DEPUTY"; 10.25" X 10.25"; Acrylic paint, ink, silver tape, woodblock print, digital prints (on canvas and adhesive paper), Plexiglas and frame (fixative, varnish layers); 2013 (1997-2013)

I will be contributing a piece to the BOS2014 Benefit this year, to support Arts in Bushwick ("Cool Deputy," see image above). I am getting really excited about the tour and all the community-building events associated with it. The text and images posted in this month's (April 2014) 4Dimensions blog were generated for Pickthorn BK. I'll be participating again this year in Pickthorn's weekend-long activities for BOS2014. Their 2014 theme, appropriately enough, given Chelsey's accomplishments as a colorist in her field, is "COLOR." So far, I've been helping Jocelyn percolate ideas, in pre-production popcorning sessions, and we'll see what else develops. It's going to be fantastic! I'll be posting more info as we get closer to the event(s).

Opening Night Photos at DLG Nashville [+ a link to a nice article in StyleBlueprint]

Photos by DLG artist Huger Foote.

LINK: 

David Lusk Gallery: A New Star in Nashville’s Art Scene

March 17, 2014 By Elizabeth Fox

"Nashville is the recipient of a true gem with the arrival of David Lusk Gallery Nashville(DLG). On March 1, DLG Nashville opened its doors to the public in the burgeoning Wedgewood/Houston neighborhood."

Invite for upcoming exhibits at DLG Nashville

The private opening and artists' get-together will be Saturday, February 22.

David Lusk Gallery opens space in Nashville

My longtime friend Dane Carder will be directing a new gallery owned by Memphis-based gallerist David Lusk in Nashville. A private opening will be held February 22, and a public opening will launch the beautiful exhibit space on March 1. I'll be showing recent and new work with DSL in 2014. Below is the press release (click-through, to see all 3 pages), and an image of the gallery, in progress.

Note from Dane: "floors won't be quite so shiny... getting closer."