Zeal NYC Recommends Joan Waltemath’s Exhibition
Art Break Downtown:
Where: Anita Rogers Gallery, 77 Mercer Street, #2-N
When: Now through May 10, Tue – Fri: 10-6, Sat: 12-4
Who: Joan Waltemath: Fecund Algorithms
What: Abstract paintings based on harmonic mathematical relationships
Why: The relationship between math and art is stronger than you might think
Fecund Algorithms [at Anita Rogers Gallery] introduces a new collection of paintings in a range of unique materials including oil, graphite, and various metallic and florescent pigments on aluminum panels, many of which take years for the artist to complete. Titled with anagrammatic terms, the series Torso/ Roots grapples with the complex and inextricable relationships between the human body and the mind, the physical and the spiritual, and art, architecture and the natural world. The pieces, at once bold and rich with subtleties, are vertically structured and based on a grid derived from harmonic mathematical relationships. Due to the reflective and absorbent nature of the pigments the artist chooses, new details emerge from the works as they are viewed from different perspectives and at various times of day; in this way, every interaction with one of the panels is a new experience. The works demand a physical reaction from the viewer, keeping them consistently aware, awake and engaged.
Upon entering the open space of the Anita Rogers Gallery you are greeted with rectangular aluminum canvas’ that immediately draw your eye and are painted like multi-paneled grids. The subtly decadent, organized planes of color and texture serve as visual offsets and underline the surrounding architecture of the Anita Rogers Gallery. Both the rigorous lines of Piet Mondrian’s seminal paintings and the tempered emotive undertones of Agnes Martin’s work come to mind.
Waltemath’s paintings do not assault the space but complement and summarize it. The canvas
es’ precisely organized colors and textures create a prevailing mood of a restful oasis. The sumptuous dilapidation of the gallery walls and fixtures enhance this mood. On a recent trip to Washington D.C. surrounded by historic monuments and nature I felt the same sense of peace and contemplation. These paintings provide the mental space to think, contemplate, and consider. The rigidly organized lines and colors force the consciousness inward or similarly condense the surrounding space and architecture onto a single plane. As such the paintings are correspondingly simple and complex.
Juxtaposed to the paintings are smaller textile pieces Waltemath considers her “rest” pieces intended to break up the complexity of the paintings and provide an inviting tactility. The soft construct of these pieces provide a nice counterbalance to the paintings and provide a narrative as to how Waltemath may have arrived at her painting techniques. While it is my belief that good painting often deceptively hides the evidence of time, the textile pieces through their meticulously attended stitching, provide not only a rest for the eye but also a welcome relief in the revelation of the lovely preciseness, rigor, and disciplined labor that underpin the paintings on view.
Rather than lines that recede into the paintings at an angle creating the illusion of depth what happens(West 1 1,2,3,5,8…), creates a conceptual understanding of space through horizontal lines. Comparing Waltemath’s paintings in relation to depth, you could say that the amount of uninterrupted open space in what happens(West 1 1,2,3,5,8…), creates a greater depth than Waltemath’s interwoven (East 2 1,2,3,5,8…), which fragments and stratifies its plane. One could say then that these paintings act as windows or looking glasses to greater expanses, however what is depicted is an interior world, both of the viewer and the paintings’ surroundings. Another noteworthy element of the paintings are the specific materials used, graphite, zinc, bronze, lead, that bring to mind layered geological formations or the raw material of industrial spaces. Indeed taking the first analogy, one could analyze her paintings as cross sectional slices of stone compressed and combined with a richness of pure and impure minerals. These windows and geological slices attune the viewer to an interstitial space and perhaps a pataphsycial belief that all will work out as it should.
Opening April 5 at Anita Rogers Gallery, “Fecund Algorithms” is the latest solo exhibition by Joan Waltemath. Grappling with the complex and often contradictory relationships between the body and mind, the artist’s abstract paintings look to mathematical equations for their harmonious and inventive grid-based compositions.
Waltemath is not only an artist, however: She is also known as an influential educator and a writer, having taught architecture for years at Cooper Union and serving as editor-at-large for the esteemed Brooklyn Rail since 2001. Here, she discusses her new work, the beauty in mathematics, and what to expect at her show.
What inspired you to create the Torso/Roots series?
I am intrigued watching people perform tasks they know by heart, observing movements that seem to stem from the corporeal, rather than being directed by the mind. I want to create something that speaks directly to the body that touches our movement in the way architecture does. The more all our devices assert their dominance over the mode of our communications, the more compelled I feel to explore the multi-faceted nature of perception. How the body knows things, remembers a thing is my tabula rasa.
SOHO — Anita Rogers Gallery: “Joan Waltemath: Fecund Algorithms”
April 5 through May 10, 2017
Opening Reception: Wednesday, April 5, at 6 p.m.
Joan Waltemath’s solo exhibition “Fecund Algorithms” at Anita Rogers Gallery will feature new paintings from her “Torso/Roots” series. The paintings, many of which took years to create, are made out of materials such as oil, graphite and metallic and fluorescent pigments on aluminum panels and were structured on harmonic mathematical relationships. Titled with anagrammatic terms, “Torso/ Roots” grapples with the complex and inextricable relationships between the human body and the mind, the physical and the spiritual, and art, architecture and the natural world.
Joan Waltemath, a New York-based painter, has shown work in New York, Chicago, Portland, Baltimore, London, Basel and Cologne and is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Hammer Museum and the Harvard University Art Museum, among others.
The collision and/or communion between repetition and randomness in the visual world is a perpetual source of interest for me. Just as what is regarded as “standard” I think of as being too formally familiar. Dichotomy and conflict create inventive dialectic. There is in this world a ubiquitous visual paradox which is a constant source of creative potential. As Oscar Wilde accurately put it: “The true mystery of the world is the VISIBLE not the INVISIBLE”. I wish to go there for a language. – Gordon Moore
If you need any motivation to get moving while pregnant, perhaps it’s this: According to a study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, exercising during pregnancy can help your body prepare for labor and recover more quickly after giving birth. Here, six workouts you can do throughout your pregnancy. (As always, just make sure to talk to your OB-GYN beforehand.)
Find the exercises, courtesy of Jenny Jin, on British American Household Staffing’s blog: http://bahs.com/news/detail/6-workouts-you-can-do-during-every-stage-of-pregnancy
One of the most frequent questions we get from readers is how to prepare for a new baby — especially what to register for. It can be overwhelming! (I remember bursting into tears on the way to dinner when I was pregnant with Toby.) So, today I’ve updated my original post from six years ago with every single thing (big and small) we got for our newborn babies. Congratulations to all new parents! I hope it’s helpful, and I’d love to hear your suggestions…
WHERE TO REGISTER
When I was pregnant with Toby, I used MyRegistry.com, since it lets you register from all different stores. That way, you can bring together exactly what you’d like, instead of being limited to one store’s selection. Amazon also offers a registry, and you can install its Universal Registry button to your browser so you can add items from any other site online.
Read the full post on registry essentials on British American Household Staffing’s blog: http://bahs.com/news/detail/what-to-register-for-your-baby
I’m a huge fan of celebrating pregnant women with all that we’ve got. There’s nothing quite as powerful, as beautiful, or as magnificent as growing a new precious life inside of your body– but I think we pregnant women can often feel very vulnerable during our pregnancy journeys. Whether it’s due to fears, hormonal anxiety, everyday aches and pains, or even feelings of insecurity or self-doubt– a woman’s pregnancy can ALSO herald a period during which time we go through a totally out of body experience. During my first pregnancy, for example, I felt super strong physically, and in-tune emotionally with my pregnancy. I did yoga and pilates, walked for miles a day, and was meditating and reading tons in preparation for my daughter’s birth. This time around has been the opposite of that. I’ve felt so out of touch in so many ways as I try desperately to balance my existing child, my relationships, my business, and my own needs. Not to mention I’ve felt less than great about my body at times during this pregnancy. I think most second-time Mamas out there can relate to this!
Read the whole post on British American Household Staffing’s blog: http://bahs.com/news/detail/celebrate-your-moment-how-to-feel-like-a-million-bucks-at-your-baby-shower
By Susan Johnston Taylor for Today
If you think packing up the minivan for a weekend at grandma’s is overwhelming, try prepping for 1 1/2 years on the road. Jessica and Garrett Gee have been traveling with their two kids, Dorothy, 4, and Manilla, 2, since August 2015.
After Garrett sold Scan Inc., an app he co-founded, to Snapchat for $54 million in 2014, he and wife Jessica decided to invest their earnings, sell most of their worldly possessions and travel the world using the money they made — roughly $45,000 — from their giant garage sale.
The family chronicles their adventures on the Bucket List Family blog, as well as on Instagram and YouTube, including diving with seals in Australia, swimming with the pigs in the Bahamas and surfing in Fiji.
Read the full post on BAHS’s blog: