ChRis KahleR auGust 31 – octobeR 9, 2010 Bio-Dynamic 1
Front Cover detail: Dynamic Hybrid C-1, 2010, 3' x 6' Acrylic and oils on canvas right: Dynamic Hybrid c-1, 2010, 3' x 6' Acrylic and oils on canvas
ChRis KahleR auGust 31 – octobeR 9, 2010 Bio-Dynamic
GalleRy DirectoRs David Eichholtz & Richard Barger
130 Lincoln Avenue, Suite D, Santa Fe, NM 87501 | p (505) 983-9555 | f (505) 983-1284 www.DavidRichardContemporary.com | info@DavidRichardContemporary.com
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Left DETAIL: Dynamic Hybrid C-2 2010, 3' x 6' Acrylic on canvas
FoReveR Now by David Pagel
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Back in 1952, the art critic Harold Rosenberg
to turn away from painting, many going so
coined the term “Action Painting” to describe
far as to declare it dead and many more
a sea change that was taking place in Ameri-
turning to assemblage, installation, perfor-
can art. In his eyes, the most exciting works
mance, video, photography, and all manner
being made were not polished products
of hybrids that eventually gave rise to the
executed by artists according to carefully laid
polyglot mélange of Postmodernism. Paint-
out plans, after all the kinks had been ironed
ing, particularly abstraction, was left out of
out in preparatory sketches and preliminary
the supposedly anything-goes free-for-all
studies. On the contrary, they were wildly
because the objects its actions produced
improvised extravaganzas in which anything
seemed to get in the way of free-wheeling
could happen, the less expected the better.
activity: too many viewers felt that that
This is how Rosenberg, in “The American
Action Painting had become nothing but
Action Painters” put it: “At a certain moment
Apocalyptic Wallpaper.
the canvas began to appear to one American painter after another as an arena in which
Chris Kahler’s new paintings bring these
to act—rather than as a space in which to
issues to mind because they play fast and
reproduce, re-design, analyze, or ‘express’
loose—and very intelligently—with the oppo-
an object, actual or imagined. What was to
sition between action and apocalypse, as well
go on the canvas was not a picture but an
as between painting and wallpaper, which
event.” The action—of making the painting—
have been in the background of discussions
is what mattered. The result of that activity—
about art for more than a half-century. Born
dried paint on canvas—was only worthy of a
in 1969, Kahler belongs to a generation of
viewer’s attention if it captured the urgency
artists for whom abstract painting was not
and uncertainty with which it was done, con-
intrinsically off-limits, the kiss-of-death for
veying, to viewers, the anxiety, engagement,
artists who wanted to be taken seriously by
and release that accompanied the struggle in
a critical establishment committed to avant-
the studio to do something that was not fake
garde experimentation and opposed to any-
or false, but authentic and real. “Apocalyptic
thing that seemed conservative, middleclass,
Wallpaper” was Rosenberg’s term for Action
unadventuresome. Kahler stands out among
Painting gone bad: for works in which nothing
this generation of rebellious, try-anything-
was discovered because the artist was stuck
once painters because his works make their
in a rut, churning out formulaic renditions of
way out of the impasse between authentic
his signature style as if the only goal were to
action in the studio and finished painting on
cover the walls with tasteful products.
the gallery wall, which drove many artists and viewers away from painting in the 1960s,
One of the oddest things about Rosenberg’s
’70s, and ’80s. His works do so by shift-
articulate defense of abstraction was that
ing the emphasis away from the artist, his
it marked the moment when artists began
biography, psychology, and inner sentiments,
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and toward the viewer: his past, present, and
events that have not yet transpired and will
point of view, as well as beliefs, dreams, and
not take place without the active participation
desires; anxieties, conflicts, and concerns. At
of a viewer, constantly responding to these
the same time that Kahler paints himself out
stimulating works by making seat-of-the-
of the picture to make room for viewers—and
pants decisions based in intuition, hunches,
the unpredictable freedoms art sometimes
and barely perceived inklings. More dedi-
makes possible—his abstract images of flow-
cated to potential and possibility than past
ing and fusing pigments promiscuously mix
actions and completed activities, Kahler’s
terms that were once unlikely bedfellows.
present-oriented paintings invite and demand face-to-face engagement: scrutiny
Think of Kahler’s densely packed yet expan-
that is up close and personal and requires
sively open-ended canvases and panels as
viewers to reveal as much about themselves
Time-Release Action Paintings. Rather than
as the works before us. They are apocalyptic
taking viewers back to a series of self-defin-
in the sense that if you fail to lose yourself in
ing discoveries made in the studio, his pains-
them—only to find yourself somewhere else:
taking, labor-intensive works demand that
renewed, refreshed, redeemed—you lose out
viewers re-make them in the moment, each
on a valuable opportunity for growth, devel-
and every time that any one of us lays eyes
opment, and discovery, at a deep, existential
on them. Kahler’s uncanny abstractions are
level. Where Rosenberg articulated the terms
particularly difficult to remember, much less
by which artists could fail (or succeed) in
describe. Their superabundance of detail,
their works, Kahler does the same for view-
profusion of unnameable shapes, complexity
ers, transferring what is at stake in the studio
of organic forms, multilayered compositions,
to the ongoing present that his invigorating
whiplash shifts in scale, and electrifying
art inhabits. The act of viewing his paintings
rainbows of phenomenally nuanced tertiary
is essentially creative, with all the risks and
colors insure that the more one looks, the
responsibilities that implies. Kahler’s paint-
more one sees, and, moreover, that the path
ings are far less egocentric than those that
and the pace of one’s trip through any one
follow old-fashioned models of art-making.
of Kahler’s works is never the same twice.
They are also more social, contextual, and
Surprise and discovery are built into his jam-
flexible, not to mention unpredictable, open-
packed constellations of visual incidents,
ended and moving.
which aim for amazement and deliver its spine-tingling, mind-blowing pleasures with
For centuries, artists have sought to stop
stunning frequency.
time, to make works so powerful, momentous, and all-consuming that they seem
Think, also, of Kahler’s supercharged abstrac-
to occupy their own reality—a world unto
tions as Apocalyptic Wallpaper In The Pres-
themselves, next to which reality pales in
ent Tense. His swirling maelstroms of oil and
comparison. Kahler takes a different tact.
acrylic are not the lifeless byproducts or evi-
His art is engineered on the principle of fold-
dentiary records of events that have already
ing time back on itself, of overlaying vari-
happened in the studio and are, for all intents
ous moments not so that the past and the
and purpose, over and done with. Instead,
present collapse into an impossibly fulfilling
Kahler’s paintings put the highest priority on
crescendo that dazzles and dominates, but
DETAIL: Hybrid Suspension 2009, 3' x 4' Acrylic and oils on panel
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so that the moment in which they are seen
others obliterates them completely, or trans-
expands to include an inconceivable number
forms them significantly, not really starting
of moments that preceded it and even more
fresh, but starting over, with all the emo-
moments that follow. His technique bears
tional consequences such endeavors imply.
this out. Kahler’s paintings are multilayered
His works do not stop time or freeze it in
constellations that allow viewers to catch
single, razor-thin instants—like photographs
fleeting glimpses of layers otherwise cov-
or movie stills—but open fleeting moments
ered over by opaque and semi-translucent
to various “befores” and “afters,” increasing
coats of paint. By dripping, splashing, and
the mystery by acknowledging and cultivat-
pouring brush-loads and buckets of acrylic
ing myriad possibilities.
and oil atop one another in a single painting, Kahler sometimes builds upon previous
Kahler’s impressive repertoire of painterly
layers that have dried or are still wet, and at
moves is all about making paintings that
DETAIL: Dynamic Hybrid c-6 2010, 24" x 30" Acrylic on panel
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get viewers to experience them as paintings
the tenor of the trip. Others embody a potent
within paintings within paintings, and so on,
and corrosive beauty, a sublime combination
and on, and on. Another way to put it is that
of breakdown and growth, disintegration
his art allows us to experience singularities
and accumulation, creation and destruction.
as multiplicities, transforming resolved com-
Think software viruses gone organic, or the
positions and autonomous wholes into open-
birth of techno-bacteria. This gives you an
ended journeys with no ends in sight. Some
idea of the uncategorizable mutations that
of his works are hallucinatory, while avoid-
take place in Kahler’s wild hybrids and rogue
ing the narrative sentimentality typical of
mongrels. Sometimes it seems as if he paints
standard Surrealism. Imagine what the world
pictures of a world of effervescence, in which
would look like if the Ben-Day dots of Pop Art
solid substances dissolve into roiling gases,
were on acid, everything melting and mutat-
steamy atmospheres, and gravity-defying liq-
ing, gorgeous and terrifying, depending on
uid clouds. In his work, it is almost impossible
to distinguish between the microscopic and
applies one or more layers of paint, pouring,
the cosmic, and everything is richer for the
dripping, and blending freely. When he tears
confusion. Many of Kahler’s paintings appear
off the masking material, a previously buried
to give shape to digital ruins or to electronic
layer of the painting is once again visible.
impulses that have eroded, their crisp clarity
The past, which had vanished, comes back.
fogged over and their streamlined swiftness
Kahler repeats this step many times in a
encrusted with integrity-compromising impu-
single painting, creating a labyrinth in time
rities. As an artist, Kahler makes a virtue of
and space. The colors he uses add to the un-
glitches in the ordinarily seamless transmis-
certainty about which part preceded which:
sion of digital information, throwing a mon-
brighter tints leap forward, darker ones re-
key wrench into the machinery that makes
cede, no matter which step in the sequence
instantaneous communication possible while
they belong to. This further complicates the
upsetting expectations of instantaneous grat-
temporal relationship between and among
ification. Information overload never looked
layers, adding figure-ground ambiguity to
better, especially in the paintings that appear
the mix. This makes Kahler a stranger in his
to be solar systems overcrowded with plan-
own painting, which allows him to get out of
ets, their orbits impossible because of inter-
his comfort zone, to steer clear of facility and
planetary traffic jams.
virtuosity and the formulaic cranking out of what Rosenberg would call Apocalyptic
Despite the worlds-within-worlds-within-
Wallpaper. Constantly responding to an
worlds density of Kahler’s physically resplen-
ongoing accumulation of marks, drips, and
dent paintings, they do not diminish accord-
spills, Kahler creates largely unanticipated
ing to the logic of infinite regression. Instead,
and wonderfully improvised palimpsests
his complex orchestrations of color, shape,
that open onto endless possibilities.
and texture maintain focus, clarity, and crispness, their vivid components colliding and
Viewing his paintings takes time. It is an
colluding with one another as they create jar-
activity that cannot be done quickly. All of
ring, collage-style disjunctions and animated
Kahler’s works have the dazzling, knock-
compositional rhythms. The centrifugal and
your-socks-off impact of images unafraid
centripetal forces at work in Kahler’s images
to compete with everything out there, will-
generate mental conundrums that enliven the
ing and able to hold their own in the image
mind as a viewer strives to put together the
glut of modern life, whose capacity for swal-
seemingly shattered fragments, to discover,
lowing up subtlety, nuance, and delicacy is
amid the compelling chaos, an improvised
well known and relentlessness. This is where
cartography or ad hoc archaeology.
Kahler’s art works its magic, bringing the deliciousness of details, the subtlety of sensual-
The secret ingredient that allows Kahler to
ity, the mysteriousness of the unknown, and
shift his paintings into high gear, so that they
the beauty of ordinarily overlooked incidents
seem to move at warp speed, is masking
to the forefront, where viewers are invited to
fluid, an acrylic medium he applies like paint
savor them and to share them, over and over
and then, long after it has dried, peels off,
again, and never the same way twice.
like masking tape. Between the application of the masking fluid and its removal, Kahler
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BELOW: Duality A-1, 2010 Diptych 6' x 8' (each half 6' x 4') Acrylic and oils on canvas
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DETAIL: Duality A-1, 2010 Diptych 6' x 8' (each half 6' x 4') Acrylic and oils on canvas
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DynamicDynamic DETAIL: Hybrid c-1, Hybrid 2010A-1, 2009 3' x 6' 6' 8' Acrylic on andcanvas oils on canvas
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Dynamic Hybrid c-6
Dynamic Hybrid c-8
Dynamic Hybrid A-1
2010, 24" x 30"
2010, 24" x 30"
2009, 6' x 8'
Acrylic on panel
Acrylic on panel
Acrylic and oils on canvas
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Biotectonica, 2010 3' x 5' Acrylic and oils on canvas
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DETAIL: Dynamic Hybrid C-3 2010, 3' x 6' Acrylic on canvas
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Dynamic Hybrid C-2, 2010
Dynamic Hybrid C-3, 2010
Dynamic Hybrid c-1, 2010
3' x 6' Acrylic on canvas
3' x 6' Acrylic on canvas
3' x 6' Acrylic and oils on canvas
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Hybrid A-1, 2010 5' x 5' Acrylic on canvas
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detail: Hybrid A-1, 2010 5' x 5' Acrylic on canvas
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Rhomb B-1, 2010
Rhomb b-2, 2010
Dynamic Hybrid A-3
24" x 24"
24" x 24"
2009, 4' x 5'
Acrylic and oils on canvas
Acrylic and oils on canvas
Acrylic on canvas
Detail: Dynamic Hybrid A-3 2009, 4' x 5' Acrylic on canvas
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DETAIL: Rhomb c-8 2010, 30" x 30" Acrylic and oils on panel
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Rhomb c-3, 2010
Rhomb c-8, 2010
Rhomb c-6, 2010
Rhomb c-9, 2010
30" x 30"
30" x 30"
30" x 30"
30" x 30"
Acrylic on panel
Acrylic and oils on panel
Acrylic on panel
Acrylic and oils on panel
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Hybrid Suspension
Dynamic Hybrid C-13
Dynamic Hybrid c-4
Dynamic Hybrid C-5
2009, 3' x 4'
2010, 2' x 3'
2010, 3' x 4'
2010, 2' x 3'
Acrylic and oils on panel
Acrylic on panel
Acrylic on panel
Acrylic on canvas
DETail: Dynamic Hybrid c-4 2010, 3' x 4' Acrylic on panel
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C   hRis KahleR 24
Chris Kahler received his BFA at Ohio
Kahler has been awarded numerous honors
Wesleyan University in 1991. Within his junior
including residencies at Painting’s Edge Res-
year of college, he spent a semester abroad
idency in Idyllwild, CA and two Artist Grants
at Parson's School of Art And Design and
for the Vermont Studio Center. His work has
the American University in Paris, France. He
been reviewed and profiled in various art
then went on for an MA at Eastern Illinois
magazines and newspapers. The most recent
University in 1992 and an MFA from North-
include Art in America (Feb 2010), reviews
western University in 1995 where he studied
in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (2009) and
with Ed Paschke, James Valerio and William
numerous reviews in St. Louis ranging from
Conger. He has been teaching at Eastern
the West End Word to The Riverfront Times.
Illinois University since 1999, where he is a
Recent catalogue essays include: James
full Professor, Graduate Coordinator and
Yood for Hybrid Dynamic and Joe Houston
head of the Painting area.
for Viral.
Since 2002, Kahler has had six solo exhibi-
His work can be found in various public
tions in Chicago and St. Louis and numerous
and private collections including the Daum
thematic exhibitions throughout the coun-
Museum, Cortex Building in St. Louis, Wash-
try. Recent exhibitions include Synchronous
ington University School of Medicine in
Events- The Works of Chris Kahler and Charles
St. Louis, Bradley University and numerous
Schwall at Purdue University, New Paintings,
private collections.
IL+MO at the Edwardsville Art Center, Paper Now at I-Space Gallery in Chicago, Biennial 24 at the South Bend Regional Art Museum, Le Papier at Gescheidle Gallery and The (In) Visible Body at NIU Gallery in Chicago.
Back Cover detail: Dynamic Hybrid C-1 2010, 3' x 6' Acrylic and oils on canvas
Photo credits: Richard Sprengeler and Chris Kahler: Paintings Yuki Kahler: Portrait of Chris Kahler
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ISBN 978-0-9827872-2-9 Price $10.00
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130 Lincoln Avenue, Suite D, Santa Fe, NM 87501 | p (505) 983-9555 | f (505) 983-1284 www.DavidRichardContemporary.com | info@DavidRichardContemporary.com