Various Small Fires Los Angeles is pleased to announce the opening of a group show curated by Los Angeles-based textile artist Diedrick Brackens on August 12, 2023. The exhibition Shaping Color brings together six artists to explore the relationships between color and process in their respective practices. Many works in the exhibition are monochromes or utilize a restricted palette. Historically monochromes often signal an intent to emphasize mastery and skill; also, in parting with all information save the essential, artists attempt to access the ineffable and the spiritual.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Zalika Azim
Oliver Strand
Sarah Crowner
Samatha Bittman
Donald Moffett
Bakari Akinyele
"With monochrome painting... the idiosyncrasy of the work, its difference, its expression lies in shape." – Guido Molinari
The exhibition Shaping Color, conceived by LA-based textile artist Diedrick Brackens, brings together six artists to explore the relationships between color and process in their respective practices. Many works in the exhibition are monochromes or utilize a restricted palette. Historically monochromes often signal an intent to emphasize mastery and skill; also, in parting with all information save the essential, artists attempt to access the ineffable and the spiritual.
Color, as employed by these makers, is intrinsically tied to their mediums and modes of production. Color becomes an agent of transmutation, not just a mere surface or mask for form; these objects are altered in ways that inform their subjects radically and color is treated as material rather than surface or ornamentation.
Donald Moffett’s Lot 080820 (open red), 2020, was a starting point for the exhibition, a wide waiting throat, a silent utterance, a moan of grief or dizzying pleasure. Moffett has been making these monochromes for many years. Using lacquer and resin to literally shape his objects, Moffett makes color material rather than surface.
