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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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G O R D O N M E I E R SUBDIVISION |
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April 25 – May 25, 2002 |
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KIMBERLY VENARDOS & COMPANY is pleased to announce the opening of SUBDIVISION, an exhibition of new paintings by GORDON MEIER. Please join us at a reception for the artist, Thursday April 25th from 6pm to 9pm or during the run of the exhibition, which continues through May 25th, 2002. KIMBERLY VENARDOS & COMPANY is located at 1014 Madison Avenue, between 78th and 79th Streets. SUBDIVISION introduces the work of GORDON MEIER, whose recent paintings contemplate the changing face of the American landscape. Drawing upon the conventions of traditional landscape painting, Meier adds a paradoxical twist, offering dramatic, luminous panoramas of a world defined by strip malls and parking lots, loading docks and two-star motels. Through subtle reference and playful irony, he simultaneously questions and celebrates the confluence of nature and mass culture. For several years GORDON MEIER has worked as a sign and mural painter, traveling the United States and living an itinerant existence for months at a time. The intimate scale of much of his work - postcard-sized paintings on panel - is a direct result of his frequent absences from the studio. Within his miniature compositions, Meier creates poignant vignettes of suburban life and the effects of urbanization on the landscape, while challenging the viewers’ perception of beauty through ostensibly banal settings. Unifying these works are elements of nature - trees, mountains, the boundless, ever-changing sky and an eerie, frequently implied human presence. In Wish You Were Here (Greenwood, Indiana), Meier gives a nod to his Midwestern hometown, greeting the viewer with an idyllic, pastoral scene complete with rolling clouds and farm houses dotting the horizon. In contrast to commercial postcards depicting exotic destinations, Meier looks inward, enthusiastically inviting you to discover his quintessentially American town, now altered and over-developed. Suburban Lovesick Alien (Canton, Ohio), is one of two large canvases in the exhibition: under the shuddering glare of a florescent lamppost, in the humid air, presence is evoked through absence. The viewer is transported to a deserted parking lot on a hot summer night. The atmosphere is thick with restless teenage angst. Perhaps to further emphasize its roots, Meier has painted the work on vinyl upholstery. The spectacle and drama of nature are captured in How To Disappear Completely (Bustamante, Mexico), as a shaft of sunlight illuminates a swirl of turbulent clouds. Our perspective shifts upward toward this awesome display, while we are reminded of something lurking below in the stretching wires of a telephone pole bathed in shadow. GORDON MEIER has exhibited at the Herron Gallery, Indianapolis and at the offices of KRT, New York. He has painted murals for Disney Sea, Tokyo, Japan; DFS, Guam and Barney’s New York, as well as for numerous restaurants, casinos and malls across America. Born in Greenwood, Indiana, Meier received a BFA from the John Herron School of Art, Indiana University. SUBDIVISION is GORDON MEIER’s first solo exhibition in New York. Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10am - 6pm Please visit our website www.venardos.com For additional information please contact: Kimberly Venardos & Company, Inc. (212) 879-5858 |