December 4, 1999 – January 22, 2000
In his latest exhibition
at the Charles Cowles Gallery, CHARLES ARNOLDI presents paintings and sculptures which, upon first glance, differ considerably
from those last shown two years ago in New York. In the paintings, the vibrant hues and lyrical abstractions
associated with this Southern California artist have evolved into solid ovoid
forms hovering in fields of grayish washes and muted earth tones. This bold
change in palette signals the artist’s latest creative rebirth rather than a
drastic thematic departure. In these
works, the fundamental awkwardness of the shapes is rendered in such a way that
the grace of elemental form is revealed.
As he has done throughout his career, ARNOLDI explores the latent abstractions found in organic
form. This transformative quality
carries over into his bronzes, infusing the weightiness of the medium with a
sense of energy, and lending to these simple objects a kind of muscular
refinement.
CHARLES ARNOLDI has been
the subject of numerous articles, catalogues, and a recent mid-career
retrospective. Over the course of his
career, he has repeatedly renewed his artistic approach, progressing from stick
assemblages and chainsawed wooden slabs to the more recent paintings and
drawings. These creative shifts are
what have allowed the artist to produce
a vital body of work, remarkable both for its formal ingenuity and firm
foundation in the vocabulary of the natural world.
CHARLES ARNOLDI has shown
extensively across the United States and abroad. His work is represented in major public and private collections
such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum
of Art, the Guggenheim Bilbao, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of
Modern Art, New York.
The exhibition will be on view at the Charles Cowles Gallery interim location at 74 Grand Street, between Greene and Wooster Streets in SoHo. Hours are 10am to 6pm, Tuesday through Saturday. There will be a reception for the artist on Tuesday, December 7th, from 6 to 8 pm.
For further information or photographs, please
contact the gallery.
Catalogues of past exhibitions are available.