Nyehaus at Zona Maco 2015 — Booth D202
Februrary 4th—8th 2015
Nyehaus is pleased to introduce its Southern Californian Light and Space artists to the Zona MACO México Arte Contemporáneo 2015, Booth D202. Artists include Peter Alexander, Judy Chicago, Mary Corse, Ronald Davis, Laddie John Dill, John McLaughlin, Eric Orr, Terry O’Shea, Helen Pashgian and Ken Price.
Color defines Mexico’s architecture, and it is perhaps best exemplified in the vibrant structures of Luis Barragán. Attempts to emulate his palette are usually fruitless, even the excess of a single drop of saturation can create the travesty that is Miami’s skyline. What makes Barragán’s sensibility truly génial is that he anticipates how majestically his pigments transmute in the ever-changing Mexican light. Shadow and reflection are equally as important as pure color.
The Finish Fetish artists that emerged in the 1960s from Los Angeles share a collective consciousness with Barragán. In some ways, given that they could focus solely on the effects of light on the object of art freed from the pesky distractions of making sure that the buildings remained upright, these artists’ experiments took Barragán’s innovations even further. Using translucent materials like resin, light and pigment in tandem, they produced color effects that were impossible with the physical limitations of paint. Gases illuminated through glass provided a “volume control dial” for luminosity. Restraint and absence of hue also provide dramatic tickles to the eye when conducted with these batons of light.
The irony of these Los Angeles artists developing such a refined palette is that this divine inspiration comes from the plumes of toxic skies—extracting beauty from the beast.