Arts & Culture Magazine - November/December 2007 - (Page 22)

Exhibitions : : Absence With Arch And Circle, oil on canvas, 24 x 54 Shadow As Red Circle, oil on panel, 16 x 16 PAUL LORENZ November 3-December 1: Showing at Greene Contemporary. Opening reception is November 2, 6-9pm. By Tobey Albright. In regards to style and history in painting, Surrealism is an important predecessor to Abstract Expressionism, with its emphasis on spontaneous, automatic or subconscious creation. Paul Lorenz’s “Absence and Shadow: What is left when all is removed,” provides a formal and conceptual space through the surface of cutting edge paintings, allowing the viewer to enact the spontaneous, automatic, or subconscious through active interpretation of what is left unfinished or covered up. In his artist statement, Lorenz says, “‘Absence may not necessarily mean something has departed, but possibly just the perception of something missing.” This sentiment touches on a vital source of inspiration in his work: the architecture, performance and visual art of post-war Japan. With this series, Lorenz focuses much consideration on the formal uses of white as a shifting ground for the compositional structures of chemistry and images. The “veiling” encouraged by the white in these abstract paintings reference Butoh performance, another aspect of Japanese culture by which Lorenz finds himself thoroughly moved. The Butoh performance typically has no set style and involves playful and grotesque imagery often performed in white-body makeup. “I had never heard of Butoh, but a friend told me it would change my life,” states Lorenz, “She was correct.” Lorenz feels that “the silences and moments of non-movement can be so strong that they bring tears.” In addition to his use of titanium white, Lorenz mixes his own colors from dry pigments and builds up the surface of his canvas in layers, resulting in a format that embraces spontaneity and improvisation. The painted surface and the means of its construction are both intended to become the works subject and the object of its autonomy. This enigmatic character of painting is what Mario Perniola refers to as the “Art [that] can never be dissolved in communication because it contains an incommunicable nucleus which is the source of an infinity of interpretations.” Under this aspect, Lorenz’s work captures and retranslates the essence of his emotional relationship with the Butoh performance. And the balance between painting and performance is reunited, in all of its expressionistic glory, not only for the painter, but also for the participating viewer. December 12-January 5: Joseph Arnegger showing at Greene Contemporary. Opening reception is December 12, 6-9pm. Arnegger continues to blend nostalgia and contemporaneity by referencing aspects of popular culture from the ‘40s and ‘50s. Greene Contemporary is located at 556 South Pineapple Avenue. Gallery hours are 10am-6pm, Wednesday through Saturday and by appointment. Call 941.365.9406 or visit www.greenecontemporary.com for more information. 22 : : arts and culture magazine http://www.greenecontemporary.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Arts & Culture Magazine - November/December 2007

Arts & Culture Magazine - November/December 2007 Contents Extra! Extra! Modern Times Gallery Interview - Jopseph Caulkins Exhibitions Dodi Reifenberg and Bradley Wester Profiles Center Stage Carnevale Horse Feathers Grill & Lounge Dancing on the Stage of Life Gallery Guide Calendar of Events

Arts & Culture Magazine - November/December 2007

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