Continuing through April 29, 2017
Destroying one’s work to create a new body of work is akin to a planet imploding, the result being a black hole. Thus the title of Dean Monogenis’ “Black Hole/Catharsis” is entirely apt. Monogenis both destroys his work and transforms it. We see paintings on wood panels turned into a mound of wood shreds, roughly coffin-like in shape. Here and there colored bits emerge as if we are looking at archaeological treasures found in an ancient burial ground. Adjoining this work is the “Catharsis” section of the Monogenis exhibition, fuses landscapes with sleek, highly detailed architectural renderings. The paintings are based on computer-designed drawings: precise, cool and otherworldly. Shapes are used as sculptural forms with the architectural sections of each piece resembling Japanese woodblock prints in both their exactitude and color. Notice the geometric perspective of “Swimming Pool,” and the expansive abstract scale of “Long Gone.”
The show is paired with Pepa Prieto’s “Senales de Humo (Smoke Signals,)” a collage-like series of dreamy abstract images. With the title representing rudimentary communication, the Brooklyn-based artist conjures up a mystical kingdom of shapes and colors. The pieces vibrate with depth, expansive horizon lines, textured borders, intriguing shapes and dazzling color. It’s a visual kingdom in which the eye is king.
