LINE ITEM Kevin Francis Matthew Larson Allison Reimus MASSEY KLEIN 124 FORSYTH STREET NY, NY 10002 MASSEYKLEIN.COM INFO@MASSEYKLEIN.COM
LINEKevin ITEM Francis Matthew Larson Allison Reimus
December 6 - January 25, 2019 Massey Klein Gallery 124 Forsyth Street New York, NY 10002
Massey Klein Gallery is pleased to announce, Line item, a group exhibition of new work by Kevin Francis, Matthew Larson, and Allison Reimus. The exhibition will be on view from December 6th through January 25th, 2020. Please join the gallery for an opening reception on Friday, December 13th, from 6-8pm. How does one create a mark that is powerful, unique, and deeply personal? Through examination of each artist’s work, the exhibition explores the use of line as tool. Yarn, string, or text act as the starting point. Through each artist's distinct practice, this element becomes something more: repetition and overlay build or obscure the once clear linear element. These works serve as an investigation into material, process, and identity. Kevin Francis’s work incorporates found and constructed materials, often paper, that become the substrate for his specific mark-making process of using line. The artist snaps a paint-soaked cord, hitting the paper and leaving a single mark, which is then repeated hundreds of times. Francis forms broad patterns over textured, reflective, and undulating surfaces that are then sewn together. These marks create a lens to contemplate and explore the interplay between line and abstraction. The overlaying line, linear composition, pattern making, and abstraction play on the reflexive instincts of the viewer to read, as well as view, the paintings. Matthew Larson’s practice, a highly unique variation on weaving, uses mass-produced and commonly available materials such as acrylic and wool fiber, and velcro. Following a labor-intensive process developed by the artist, Larson embeds individual strands of fiber into velcro mounted on linen, which he then stretches over a panel. Through controlled use of line, he achieves precise patterns and striations of color and texture. Allison Reimus's work explores the relationship between decoration and function and similarly, how painting operates as both an object and an idea. Simple compositions depicting singular moments, text, and objects allow Reimus to freely explore her interests in formalism, geometry, line, and abstraction. Thoughtful investigations regarding tactility and surface often lead to experiments with media closely associated with domesticity and the feminine: glitter, gold leaf, flocking fibers, textiles, and spray paint.
Allison Reimus, DIGNITY, 2017 Oil on sewn linen 56 x 50 inches
Allison Reimus, MOTHER, 2019 Oil, acrylic, flashe, adhesive, glitter, flocking fiber, pom poms, spray paint, textiles on sewn canvas 84 x 60 inches
Allison Reimus, Untitled, 2018 Oil, collage, linen, lace, canvas threads on canvas 14 x 16 inches
Matthew Larson, Sectional, 2018 Acrylic fiber, velcro, and linen on panel 26 x 21 inches framed
Matthew Larson, Slow Image, 2019 Acrylic fiber, velcro, and linen on panel 51 x 36 inches
Matthew Larson, Volume, 2019 Acrylic fiber on Velcro and linen on panel 51 x 36 inches
Kevin Francis, Untitled (black and white), 2018 Oil, acrylic, and thread on paper 51.5 x 72 inches framed
Kevin Francis, Untitled (blue and gold), 2019 Acrylic and thread on diazo paper 39 x 28.75 inches framed
Kevin Francis, Untitled (CMYK, RGB gold), 2018 UV pigment and acrylic on polyester 92 x 58 framed
This catalogue published on the occasion of the exhibition
Line Item
Kevin Francis Matthew Larson Allison Reimus
December 5 - January 25, 2019 Massey Klein Gallery 124 Forsyth Street New York, NY 10002 www.masseyklein.com
Š2018 Massey Klein Gallery, Kevin Francis, Matthew Larson, Allison Reimus All rights reserved. No part of this publication shall be reprinted or reproduced in any form without written permission from Massey Klein Gallery or the artists. Installation Photos: JP Rodriguez