Libby Black a light that never goes out
Libby Black // A Light That Never Goes Out May 13 - June 30, 2016 Opening reception with the artist Friday, May 13, 6 - 9pm Gallery 16 is proud to announce our first solo exhibition with Bay Area artist Libby Black. This is the first solo exhibition of the artist’s work in San Francisco since 2012. In this body of work the artist presents her incredible paper sculptures which invite viewers to decode a catalogue of influences both past and present. A Light That Never Goes Out will feature her signature paper, hot glue, and acrylic still life sculptures as well as a series of paintings and drawings. Black’s constructs are a blend of fantasy and reality. She reshapes objects from her life into a series of still lifes that, in effect, become self-portraits of the artist. They share the humility and humor of Black’s past works while providing thought provoking commentary on larger societal issues. These works are simultaneously biting, funny, and deeply introspective. I am interested in having the work chart a path through personal history into a broader cultural context to explore themes of identity, impermanence and the glitzy emptiness of desire and greed. Making this work is a way to take pleasure in re-creating objects while also coding my identities (as a daughter, a lesbian, an artist, a mother, a dreamer, a fan, a lover) into the compositions. – Libby Black, 2016 Libby Black’s recent museum exhibitions include New Image Sculpture, McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; Workout Room, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, and New Art for a New Century: Contemporary Acquisitions 2000-2010, Orange County Museum of Art, CA. Artists of Invention: A Century of CCA at the Oakland Museum of California; Bay Area Now 4, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; The 2004 California Biennial, Orange County Museum of Art; The Superfly Effect, Jersey City Museum, NJ; Art on Paper 2008, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC; and Smoke and Mirrors: Deception in Contemporary Art, Visual Arts Gallery, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Black received her MFA from California College of Arts and Crafts in San Francisco in 2001, and her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1999. Her work has been reviewed and featured in Artforum, Art in America, Art & Auction, ARTnews, Paper Magazine, The Huffington Post, Zink Magazine, the New York Times, the Star Ledger, the Los Angeles Times, Elle Magazine, New American Paintings, Art Basel Miami Beach (2005 & 2006), among other publications. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Orange County Museum of Art, the Oakland Museum of California, and The Chaney Family Collection, as well as a number of renowned private collections around the world.
gallery 16 / 501 Third st / san francisco, ca / 415 626 7495 / gallery16.com
Spirit, 2016 100.5 x 41 x 21 Paper, Glue, Paint
Above: Spirit (Detail), 2016 100.5 x 41 x 21 Paper Glue Paint Right: Spirit (Detail), 2016 100.5 x 41 x 21 Paper Glue Paint
Left: I Believe In You, 2016 19” x 1 6.5” x 35” Paper, Glue, Paint Above: I Believe In You (Detail), 2016 19” x 1 6.5” x 35” Paper, Glue, Paint
Above: All The Inches Added Up (Detail), 2016 19” x1 6.5” x 35” Paper Glue Paint Left: All The Inches Added Up, 2016 19” x1 6.5” x 35” Paper Glue Paint
Gucci Lifesaver, 2016 30”x3”x31” Paper glue paint
Silver Linings, 2015 8.5 x 11 x 11 Paper paint glue
I Can’t Make You Love Me, 2016 8.5 x 7 x 5.5 Paper paint glue
Gucci Airplane, 2016 11.25 x 5.25 x 3 Paper paint glue
Hermes Airplane, 2016 Paper paint glue 6.75 x 4.5x3
Chanel Airplane, 2016 Paper paint glue 7x 5.5 x 3.5
Red and White Tulip, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 60”x40”
Tulips and Irises, 2016 Acrylic on Canvas 60”x40”
Women Who Prefer Women, 2016 Gouache on Paper 5.75”x9”
Lesbian Gym, 2016 Gouache on Paper 5.75”x8.25”
The Third Street, 2016 Gouache on Paper 5.5”x9”
Fogots Stay Out, 2015 Graphite on Paper 8”x10”
Adidas Tracksuit, 2016 Gouache on Paper 9 x 11.75
Hermes Mushrooms, 2014 Gouache on Paper 10 X 10
Janis, 2015 Graphite on Paper, 9 x 6
Jim’s Grave, 2015 Graphite and Gouache on Paper, 7.5 x 6
Purple Tulips, 2012 Oil on Canvas, 36 x 24
Jasper’s Cup, 2012 Oil on Canvas, 28 x 22
Judy, 2014 Graphite on Paper, 8 x 8
Michael’s Shoes, 2015 Graphite on Paper, 8.25 x 5.25
Viper Room (River Phoenix), 2015 Graphite on Paper, 8.5 x 5.75
You’ve Come A Long Way Baby, 2016 Graphite and Gouache on Paper, 9.5 x 12.5
Above: Still Life Dome, 2015 Graphite on Paper, 18 x 24 Right: Libby Black Studio April 2016
Libby Black’s artwork is available through Gallery 16 Gallery 16 is located at 501 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 Inquiries may contact Griff Williams at 415-626-7495 All images Š Libby Black gallery16.com
Gallery 16 was founded by artist Griff Williams in 1994. Since then, Gallery 16 and its fine art imprint Gallery 16 Editions has produced exhibitions with over 250 artists and published over 800 prints, artist books, and multiples with artists including Michelle Grabner, Ari Marcopoulos, Jim Goldberg, Colter Jacobsen, Bill Berkson, Harrell Fletcher, Lynn Hershman, Amy Franceschini, William Kentridge, Tucker Nichols, Libby Black, Deborah Oropallo, Jim Isermann, Graham Gillmore, Mark Grotjahn, Rebeca Bollinger, Rex Ray, and Margaret Kilgallen.