Mark Sengbusch, Lovers IV (detail) - 2015, Scrimshawed acrylic on panel, 45 x 31 inches
Economy of Form: Matthew Hawtin, Mary Kim, and Mark Sengbusch
November 14 - December 24, 2015
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 14 5:30-8:30pm
Economy of Form features paintings by Matthew Hawtin and Mark Sengbusch and sculpture by Mary Kim. The exhibition title refers to a description of the term Hard Edge. This termwas first applied to an exhibition titled Four Abstract Classicists, which opened at the San Francisco Museum of Art in 1959. The artists in that exhibition, John McLaughlin, Lorser Feitelson, Frederick Hammersley, and Karl Benjamin utilized crisp edges to separate color in a minimal arrangement of geometric forms. The forms were spare and refined and often featured the use of vibrant color. This description can also be applied to the work of Matthew Hawtin, Mary Kim, and Mark Sengbusch, all of whom reference the history of minimalism and hard edge painting in their work. Hawtin's large scale paintings on fiberglass shapes and torqued canvas reveal his interest in history, yet he pushes it into contemporary form. Mark Sengbusch describes his technique as scrimshaw, carving his lines into the wooden panels he paints on. The result is that the color lies next to each other on a flat surface, nothing is overlapping. Mary Kim has taken geometric shapes and edited the center, what remains are simple sculptural lines in brilliant hues. Hawtin, Kim, and Sengbusch are allied in their ongoing investigation of form, line, and color.
