Temporal Surfaces: New Work by Kevin Cyr and Jessica Hess

Jessica Hess "Eureka - Day"

Kevin Cyr "Allen"

Temporal Surfaces
New Works by Kevin Cyr and Jessica Hess
Opening: Saturday, March 6th 2010 from 7-11pm
Show Runs Through: March 27th 2010

White Walls is pleased to present Temporal Surfaces, an exhibition guest-curated by Lainya Magaña that will feature the work of Kevin Cyr and Jessica Hess. Please join us for the opening reception on Saturday, March 6th, 2010, from 7-11pm.

Temporal Surfaces points to the relationship between space and time by uniting the individual perspectives of two artists separately exploring decay and abandonment in urban environments. The result is a body of work documenting the transitory nature of the contemporary urban American landscape, lauding these decrepit, graffiti laden, and often overlooked scenes as reverential places of beauty.

Working with photographs for inspiration and reference, Hessʼs exquisitely rendered oil paintings depict industrial sites and their graffiti-covered surfaces with keen attention to light and color. In the style of portraiture, Cyrʼs detailed paintings of derelict service vehicles, bombed with graffiti, are commemorated as the workhorses of a car culture society.

Painting in a historical style akin to ʻmodernʼ rather than ʻclassicalʼ landscape painting, both artistsʼ works are aesthetically realized, allowing for a visual experience that accounts for ephemeral beauty without being idealized or contrived. Hess and Cyr contemporize and push the boundaries of landscape painting by documenting the worldly and fleeting nature of urban structures; giving a deserved place of permanence to surfaces destined for change.

KEVIN CYR was born in Edmundston, NB, Canada, in 1976 and grew up in the paper mill town of Madawaska, Maine. Cyr received his BFA from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and has been published widely.

JESSICA HESS was born in Massachusetts and raised in North Carolina. Hess received her BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2003. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US, resides in the A.G. Rosen collection, and has
received numerous awards. Hess currently lives and works in Boston, MA.

The opening reception of Temporal Surfaces at White Walls Gallery will be held on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 from 7-11pm. The exhibit will be on display through March 27th, 2010 and is open to the public.

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“Plastic Makes Perfect”: Work by Aron Cohen at Space07, Sacramento

Collection and Analysis 2, Mounted Pigment Print, 20.5"x20.5", 2009

I have unearthed myself from my holiday hibernation to bring you a smattering of shots from my latest curatorial endeavor. “Plastic Makes Perfect” features the work of San Francisco-based photographic artist Aron Cohen. The opening of the show was met with rave reviews, due most certainly in part to Cohen’s ability to surprise viewers and invoke wonder with aesthetically appealing and conceptually intriguing works of art. Cohen composes his subject matter in such a way as to create a sense of abstraction that one would expect from a painting. Executed through the photographic process, Cohen stages his materials and carefully composes each piece. The resultant images portray a sense of ethereal space, weightlessness, and an embodiment of the immaterial. For more on this collection of work, please follow the jump.

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