< Past Exhibitions
January 2017
January 2017
MARTIN DURAZO: The Adventurers | PAHL SAMSON: And So It Begins With Me
January 6 - February 4, 2017
January 6 - February 4, 2017
Martin Durazo, "The Adventurers", 2016, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 84 inches
|
Pahl Samson , "Crescent", 2016, lace, felt, thread and glass bead, 12 x 8 inches
|
For exhibition images, please scroll down.
Barbara Davis Gallery is pleased to announce two solo-exhibitions, The Adventurers by Los Angeles-based artist Martin Durazo and And So It Begins With Me by Houston-based artist Pahl Samson, opening Friday, January 6th, 2017, with an artist reception from 6:00 - 8:30pm. These exhibitions are on view through February 4, 2017.
Martin Durazo presents new paintings that explore concepts of travel, searching and the eventual spirituality of experiencing the uncharted. The Adventurers began by taking cues from works of literature and film that explore travels through life that seem to have a destination or goal only to reveal that the journey itself is the true reward. In these paintings layers of marks suggest mapping, recorded marks of time, or some other counting actions, real or imagined. Icons resembling water vessels are found drawn or printed onto the surfaces of the canvases. Active and vibrant transparent layers of paint are applied over other muted layers revealing marks that are lush with color and movement. Working in this manner allows for a constant visual movement in the inherent static nature of painting. These paintings are intended hook, fool, joke, cry and celebrate the journey.
Pahl Samson lives and works in Houston, Texas. He focuses on the familiar image and its unfamiliar application. The works begin by honing in on what are the identifiers of the sources and stitching them back together to form new and wild relationships. And So It Begins With Me focuses on emotional journeys depicted through thread and lace. The result is decadent filigree lacework. Cartography depicting topography, erosion, urban planning as well as placing emotional ties on moving through spaces. Travel and stagnation, connectivity and isolation, strict and loose are all butted up against each other to emphasize the inability to tell reality from an emotional blind standpoint.
Martin Durazo received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Art from Pitzer College. Durazo is the recipient of the 2012 C.O.L.A. Individual Artists Fellowship from the City of Los Angeles and a 2011 California Community Foundation Fellowship Award, funded by the Getty Trust. His work was included in the inaugural 2011 SUR Biennial and in 2010 he was an Artist-in-Residence at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica. He has exhibited at the Torrance Art Museum; PULSE Los Angeles Contemporary Art Fair; Pomona College Museum of Art; MexiCali Biennial 2013; Harris Art Gallery at the University of LaVerne; White Box in New York City; Volta 8 Basel; ArtForum Berlin and Art Basel Miami Beach. In the fall of 2016 he participated in the group exhibition, ‘Perfect Day’ at Roberts & Tilton in Los Angeles. His work has been reviewed in Flash Art International, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, LA Weekly, Artweek, and Art Review.
Click here to view more examples of work by Martin Durazo.
Pahl Samson lives and works in Houston. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Landscape Architecture from Texas A&M and his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the University of Houston. In his works, Pahl uses visual descriptors, maps and textual innuendos to combine pieces of knowledge of the real and experienced world to retell the qualities that illustrate what he considers esteemed, cherished and dear. He has had several gallery and museum exhibitions, including at the Blaffer Art Museum, University of Houston.
Click here to view more examples of work by Pahl Samson
The Adventurers and And So It Begins With Me open Friday, January 6, 2017 with an artist reception from 6:00 - 8:30pm. Artists will be in attendance. These exhibitions are on view through February 4, 2017. For more information, please contact Barbara Davis Gallery at 713.520.9200 or info@barbaradavisgallery.com.
| Full Press Release |
