Gallery Watch

Tracks - Philippa Blair & Figurations - Jayme Odgers & Watercolor - October 17 – November 11, 2009 - Lawrence Asher Gallery (Los Angeles)

Two very different artists converge in LA this month to exhibit their latest work. Jayme Odgers' watercolor portraits signal a departure from his typographic works, in which words are both the subject and object. With the portraits however, honest renderings of photographs taken by the artist of his friends, the object becomes the subject. The portraits are demonstrative of a high skill set. The sophisticated use of watercolors paired with a steady hand and astute sensitivity to expression reveal an exacting portrait of the artist.

Philippa Blair, on the other hand, takes a more abstract approach while drawing on her experience in New Zealand and her time in the States. These paintings do not have a fixed point of view thus allowing us to read the work any way we like, side to side or top to bottom, as we attempt to discern one surface layer from the next. You can check out the images on-line or visit the gallery if you are in LA.

Stream - John Delk - October 23 - December 5, 2009 - Thomas Robertello Gallery (Chicago)

The work of John Delk is almost more about process then visual results. Delk turns digitally recorded data, banal experience, headlines, activity, measurements of time, and detailed observation into materially low-brow mirrors of consciousness. Active self-defining becomes a gateway to understanding the humble ways in which one comes to terms with limitations in a technological and political context. "John Delk", 2009 utilizes the binary code from an audio file of the artist saying his own name to create a self-portrait as a list of thousands of zeros and ones. The specificity of the code connotes genetic composition and individuality as a complexly organized but finite set of components. This is truly fascinating work.