David Brody
17 Nov - 23 Dec 2011
DAVID BRODY
Journey to the Center of the Earth
17 November – 23 December, 2011
Pierogi is pleased to present an exhibition of recent paintings by David Brody. Brody takes his time to develop abstractions that verge on representation and hover between architecture, biology and geology. Perspective lines draw the eye but what is up and down, what is receding and protruding, is always in question, and firm ground is hard to come by. Shots of cobalt, cadmium yellow and red punctuate sepia and umber tones and seep out of crevices to pool inexplicably.
John Yau’s writing on Brody’s gouaches could be applied equally to his paintings. Brody creates “uninhabited spaces where one’s imagination can find solace despite their apocalyptic references. In these gouaches we see the ruins of the future approaching us.” (John Yau, Art on Paper) In “Surf Palace,” what appear to be steel girders or I-beams hover above and support undulating sandstone structures. Peeking through could be the remnants of, or emergence of, walls to some palatial structure. Brody’s paintings often suggest potential mythical landscapes. In “Nod” a kind of complex cliff-side structure impossibly crafted of adobe floats above misty depths. In “Journey to the Center of the Earth” ramparts and staggered structures seem to rise and fall simultaneously.
“He is an artist of obsessive intensity, working in closely hatched mark making akin to what I have called, only half-disparagingly, a tendency among artists of his milieu towards ‘fuss and fiddle.’ In Brody’s aesthetic, however, the quirks of handwriting are offset by sublime sensations of space. He offers a fusion of grandeur and doubt that recalls Cézanne.” (David Cohen)
This is David Brody’s fourth solo exhibition at Pierogi. His paintings were exhibited at James Siena’s project gallery Sometimes (Works of Art) last Spring. His paintings and wall drawings have been shown at The Brooklyn Museum, The Drawing Center, Exit Art, and Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center among many other venues. His digital animations have been screened at MoMA, the Reina Sofia Museum, and the Centre Georges Pompidou, as well as Pierogi Leipzig. Brody writes art criticism for Artcritical.com and has also written for Bomb Magazine, Cabinet, and the Brooklyn Rail. An interview with Phillip Taaffe was published in Taaffe’s recent catalogue Anima Mundi (Irish Museum of Modern Art). Brody was born and raised and currently lives and works in Brooklyn.
Journey to the Center of the Earth
17 November – 23 December, 2011
Pierogi is pleased to present an exhibition of recent paintings by David Brody. Brody takes his time to develop abstractions that verge on representation and hover between architecture, biology and geology. Perspective lines draw the eye but what is up and down, what is receding and protruding, is always in question, and firm ground is hard to come by. Shots of cobalt, cadmium yellow and red punctuate sepia and umber tones and seep out of crevices to pool inexplicably.
John Yau’s writing on Brody’s gouaches could be applied equally to his paintings. Brody creates “uninhabited spaces where one’s imagination can find solace despite their apocalyptic references. In these gouaches we see the ruins of the future approaching us.” (John Yau, Art on Paper) In “Surf Palace,” what appear to be steel girders or I-beams hover above and support undulating sandstone structures. Peeking through could be the remnants of, or emergence of, walls to some palatial structure. Brody’s paintings often suggest potential mythical landscapes. In “Nod” a kind of complex cliff-side structure impossibly crafted of adobe floats above misty depths. In “Journey to the Center of the Earth” ramparts and staggered structures seem to rise and fall simultaneously.
“He is an artist of obsessive intensity, working in closely hatched mark making akin to what I have called, only half-disparagingly, a tendency among artists of his milieu towards ‘fuss and fiddle.’ In Brody’s aesthetic, however, the quirks of handwriting are offset by sublime sensations of space. He offers a fusion of grandeur and doubt that recalls Cézanne.” (David Cohen)
This is David Brody’s fourth solo exhibition at Pierogi. His paintings were exhibited at James Siena’s project gallery Sometimes (Works of Art) last Spring. His paintings and wall drawings have been shown at The Brooklyn Museum, The Drawing Center, Exit Art, and Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center among many other venues. His digital animations have been screened at MoMA, the Reina Sofia Museum, and the Centre Georges Pompidou, as well as Pierogi Leipzig. Brody writes art criticism for Artcritical.com and has also written for Bomb Magazine, Cabinet, and the Brooklyn Rail. An interview with Phillip Taaffe was published in Taaffe’s recent catalogue Anima Mundi (Irish Museum of Modern Art). Brody was born and raised and currently lives and works in Brooklyn.