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Meshes of the Afternoon Sean Kelly Gallery

Installation view of Meshes of the Afternoon: A group exhibition of paintings at Sean Kelly, New York
March 29 - May 4, 2013
Photography: Jason Mandella
Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York

Meshes of the Afternoon Sean Kelly Gallery

Installation view of Meshes of the Afternoon: A group exhibition of paintings at Sean Kelly, New York
March 29 - May 4, 2013
Photography: Jason Mandella
Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York

Meshes of the Afternoon Sean Kelly Gallery

Installation view of Meshes of the Afternoon: A group exhibition of paintings at Sean Kelly, New York
March 29 - May 4, 2013
Photography: Jason Mandella
Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York

Meshes of the Afternoon Sean Kelly Gallery

Installation view of Meshes of the Afternoon: A group exhibition of paintings at Sean Kelly, New York
March 29 - May 4, 2013
Photography: Jason Mandella
Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York

Meshes of the Afternoon Sean Kelly Gallery

Installation view of Meshes of the Afternoon: A group exhibition of paintings at Sean Kelly, New York
March 29 - May 4, 2013
Photography: Jason Mandella
Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York

Meshes of the Afternoon Sean Kelly Gallery

Installation view of Meshes of the Afternoon: A group exhibition of paintings at Sean Kelly, New York
March 29 - May 4, 2013
Photography: Jason Mandella
Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York

Meshes of the Afternoon Sean Kelly Gallery

Installation view of Meshes of the Afternoon: A group exhibition of paintings at Sean Kelly, New York
March 29 - May 4, 2013
Photography: Jason Mandella
Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York

Meshes of the Afternoon Sean Kelly Gallery

Installation view of Meshes of the Afternoon: A group exhibition of paintings at Sean Kelly, New York
March 29 - May 4, 2013
Photography: Jason Mandella
Courtesy: Sean Kelly, New York

Thomas Zipp Sean Kelly Gallery

Thomas Zipp
A.B. : Pathological, 2012
mixed media, acrylic and oil on canvas
39 3/8 x 31 1/2 inches (100 x 80 cm)
TZ-1

Sam Falls Sean Kelly Gallery

Sam Falls
Untitled (Pink 1, Glassel Park, Los Angeles, CA), 2012
polyester and metal grommets
68 3/4 x 40 1/4 inches (174.6 x 102.2 cm)
SFa-1

Pawel Ksiazek Sean Kelly Gallery

Pawel Ksaizek
Untitled 03, 2012
oil on canvas
15 3/4 x 19.69 inches (40 x 50 cm)
PKs-8

Kaye Donachie Sean Kelly Gallery

Kaye Donachie
Speak with Nothing to Say, 2013
oil on canvas
18 1/4 x 15 1/8 inches (46.4 x 38.4 cm)
KD-2

David Salle Sean Kelly Gallery

David Salle
The Lovely Redhead for F.S., 2013
acrylic and silkscreen ink on metal, oil on canvas
painting: 76 x 66 inches (193 x 167.6 cm)
framed: 76 1/2 x 66 3/8 x 2 5/8 inches (194.3 x 168.6 x 6.7 cm)
DSa-3

Lars Elling Sean Kelly Gallery

Lars Elling
Polaroid, 2012
tempera on canvas
39 3/8 x 39 3/8 inches (100 x 100 cm)
LEl-3

Lu Song Sean Kelly Gallery

Lu Song
Gusts, 2012
oil on canvas
painting: 55 1/8 x 63 inches (140 x 160 cm)
LSo-6

Press Release

 

A group painting exhibition of works by:

Cecily Brown, Kaye Donachie, Lars Elling,
Sam Falls, Valérie Favre, Pawel Ksiazek,
David Salle, Lu Song and Thomas Zipp

 

 

Meshes of the Afternoon, a group exhibition of paintings, draws its thematic inspiration from the iconic 1943 Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid film of the same name. The film Meshes of the Afternoon is one of the most important works of early American avant-garde cinema—a non-narrative, short black and white work that is an influential Surrealist-inspired exploration of the subconscious and symbolic imagery. The exhibition will be held in gallery one and includes the film itself along with almost thirty paintings from a diverse group of nine artists.

The film, which delves into the unconscious mind of the main character, conflates the subconscious with reality, creating an ominous tone fraught with feelings of unrest and violence imbedded in domestic complacency. This unquiet and unsettling mood, which, in Deren’s words, aims to articulate "the feeling which a human being experiences about an incident, rather than to record the incident accurately”, is reflected in the paintings included in this exhibition. In these works, architecture, object and subject are depicted in shifting relation to one another, blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction. Meshes of the Afternoon explores both the figurative impulse in contemporary painting and the representation of deconstructed narratives, non-linear time and the mediated image. The exhibition brings together works from a geographically widespread array of artists to explore these themes.

Included in Meshes of the Afternoon are large-scale paintings from New York-based artists Cecily Brown and David Salle that oscillate between abstraction and figuration, alongside the works of Lars Elling (Norway), Lu Song (China) and Thomas Zipp (Germany), which suggest dream-like sequences with a quasi-narrative feel. The large-scale works are juxtaposed with the carefully considered intimacy of smaller paintings from Kaye Donachie (United Kingdom), Valerie Favre (Switzerland) and Pawel Ksiazek (Poland). Physically engaging the space with a painting that transforms into sculpture, Sam Falls (United States) contributes a monumental work to the exhibition that employs the elements and the passage of time in its creation. As a whole, the works included in Meshes of the Afternoon draw on the techniques of avant-garde cinema, such as those employed in the Deren/Hammid film, to evoke psychologically-charged settings accompanied by ambiguous and often unsettling connotations.

Concurrently, in galleries two and three, Sean Kelly will present Nathan Mabry: Shapeshifter, the artist’s first exhibition at the gallery.

 

 

Checklist

Entrance to Main Gallery

MAYA DEREN AND ALEXANDER HAMMID
Meshes of the Afternoon, 1943
16mm film transferred to Blu-Ray DVD, silent, 14 minute loop
dimensions variable
MDAH-1

Main Gallery (clockwise from east wall on left)

PAWEL KSIAZEK
N.N. 33, 2008
oil on canvas
17 3/4 x 21 5/8 inches (45 x 55 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
PKs-3

VALERIE FAVRE
Ghost (Gruppe), 2009
oil on canvas
12 x 9 1/2 inches (30 x 24 cm)
VF-1

PAWEL KSIAZEK
N.N. 4, 2007
oil on canvas
19 3/8 x 24 5/8 inches (49 x 62 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
PKs-2

Main Gallery (south wall)

PAWEL KSIAZEK
N.N. 35, 2008
oil on canvas
7 7/8 x 11 7/8 inches (20 x 30 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
PKs-4

THOMAS ZIPP
A.B.: Pathological, 2012
mixed media, acrylic and oil on canvas
39 3/8 x 31 1/2 inches (100 x 80 cm)
TZ-1

LARS ELLING
Secret Services, 2012
tempera on canvas
67 x 67 inches (170 x 170 cm)
LEl-2

KAYE DONACHIE
Speak with Nothing to Say, 2013
oil on canvas
18 1/4 x 15 1/8 inches (46.4 x 38.4 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
KD-2

KAYE DONACHIE
Dream to Reality, 2013
oil on canvas
24 1/4 x 18 1/8 inches (61.6 x 46 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
KD-3

PAWEL KSIAZEK
N.N. 60, 2010
oil on canvas
15 3/4 x 13 inches (40 x 33 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
PKs-5

DAVID SALLE
The Lovely Redhead for F.S., 2013
acrylic and silkscreen ink on metal, oil on canvas
painting: 76 x 66 inches (193 x 167.6 cm)
framed: 76 1/2 x 66 3/8 x 2 5/8 inches (194.3 x 168.6 x 6.7 cm)
DSa-3

CECILY BROWN
Untitled, 2013
oil on linen
12 1/2 x 17 inches (31.8 x 43.2 cm)
CBr-1

LARS ELLING
Polaroid, 2012
tempera on canvas
39 3/8 x 39 3/8 inches (100 x 100 cm)
LEl-3


Main Gallery (west wall)

LU SONG
Falling Leaves, 2011
oil on canvas
70 7/8 x 110 1/4 inches (180 x 280 cm)
signed by the artist, verso
LSo-5

KAYE DONACHIE
Motionless Forever, 2013
oil on canvas
20 1/8 x 16 1/8 inches (51.1 x 41 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
KD-1

LU SONG
Gusts, 2012
oil on canvas
55 1/8 x 63 inches (140 x 160 cm)
signed by the artist, verso
LSo-6


Main Gallery (north wall)

LARS ELLING
Falling Dream, 2012
tempera on canvas
39 3/8 x 39 3/8 inches (100 x 100 cm)
LEl-4

VALERIE FAVRE
Ghost (No. 13), 2010
oil on canvas
11 13/16 x 7 7/8 inches (30 x 20 cm)
VF-3

CECILY BROWN
Lost Weekend, 2009-2013
oil on linen
89 x 97 inches (226.1 x 246.4 cm)
CBr-2

PAWEL KSIAZEK
Untitled 03, 2012
oil on canvas
15 3/4 x 19.69 inches (40 x 50 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
PKs-8

VALERIE FAVRE
Ghost (No. 12), 2010
oil on canvas
15 3/4 x 11 13/16 inches (40 x 30 cm)
VF-2

PAWEL KSIAZEK
Untitled 21, 2012
oil on canvas
12 5/8 x 16 1/2 inches (32 x 42 cm)
signed, titled and dated by artist, verso
PKs-9

LARS ELLING
Selection of Suitable Material, 2012
tempera on canvas
67 x 67 inches (170 x 170 cm)
LEl-1


Main Gallery (east wall)

SAM FALLS
Untitled (Bright Blue, Glassel Park, Los Angeles, CA), 2012
polyester and metal grommets
68 1/4 x 39 3/4 inches (173.4 x 101 cm)
SFa-2

LU SONG
Untitled, 2012
oil on canvas
27 1/2 x 35 3/8 inches (70 x 90 cm)
signed by the artist, verso
LSo-14

SAM FALLS
Untitled (Pink 1, Glassel Park, Los Angeles, CA), 2012
polyester and metal grommets
68 3/4 x 40 1/4 inches (174.6 x 102.2 cm)
SFa-1


Main Gallery (central)

SAM FALLS
Untitled (Red 1, Highland Park, CA), 2011
polyester and metal grommets
103 3/4 x 866 inches (263.5 x 2199.6 cm)
SFa-7


Director’s Office (right)

LU SONG
Overgrowth, 2012
oil on canvas
51 1/8 x 82 5/8 inches (130 x 210 cm)
signed by the artist, verso
LSo-10