FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Charles Arnoldi

New Paintings

September 4 - October 13, 2001


Combining the visual simplicity of the stark ovoid forms last exhibited in New York with the color palette and compositional complexity of earlier works, CHARLES ARNOLDI's recent paintings reflect the energy of an artist who is continuously re-thinking and re-approaching his work. CHARLES ARNOLDI's recent paintings are a refined arrangement of themes and motifs he has been exploring for several years.

In 1999, ARNOLDI completed a large-scale commission in the lobby of an office building in San Francisco. This inspired him to work with multiple canvases fitted together to form an overall composition. Since then he has continually explored variants of his original structural solution. Pairings from his rich palette of hues are combined and recombined to explore the depths of the compositional formulas. Round organic forms leak past the edges of each canvas. It is almost as if the works are composite representations of the forms in different color pairings and sizes.

ARNOLDI has been the subject of numerous articles, catalogues, and a 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.

ARNOLDI's works are in distinguished museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Art Institute of Chicago.

The exhibition will be on view at the Charles Cowles Gallery, 537 West 24th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues in Chelsea. Hours are 10am to 6pm, Tuesday through Saturday.

There will be a reception for the artist on Tuesday, September 11, from 6-8 pm.

For further information or photographs, please contact the gallery.