John Platt Exhibition Catalogue

J O H N P L AT T

JOHN PLATT May 24 - June 23, 2018

INTRODUCTION John Platt’s recent body of work explores abstract expressionism through a deeply personal artistic language. Platt’s paintings, which are all oil or enamel paint on canvas, combine linear color field compositions together with loose, gestural abstractions. Each of his paintings is nonrepresentational, but his discerning eye and instinct for arresting color combinations provoke emotional responses from the viewer. Ultimately, color, light, and texture become the subject of his paintings.

Platt creates vertical stripes of pure color (Northern Lights), free-flowing drips (River), islands of swirling gradients (Around the Bend), and in some canvases, an amalgamation of all these styles (Palisades). In his monumental composition, Pharaoh, Platt builds up a mountainous foundation of dark blue pigments. Cascading from the apex is a flurry of white paint, mixing together with surrounding hues to form a textural mass of color and light. In stark contrast to the looseness of Pharaoh, the artist’s 51st Street is a rhythmic dance of hard-edged stripes. Colorful bands of varying widths are slightly separated from one another so that the white-painted canvas underneath peeks through, creating a seductive luminosity.

Among Platt’s influences are two pillars of American Abstract Expressionism, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. From Rothko, Platt borrows the technique of pairing multiple colors to evoke an emotional response and to stir a meditative experience. With Newman, Platt share a bold acceptance of chance and spontaneity, allowing his work to continuously evolve. Platt’s paintings are strongly individualistic, however, and while he draws inspiration from past masters his final products are rooted in sources that are unique to the artist: his memories, his surroundings, and the spirit of his time.

51st Street 2018 Oil on canvas 36 x 48 inches

Around the Bend 2018 Enamel on canvas 24 x 36 inches

Chord 7 2017 Oil on canvas 24 x 36 inches

Sway 2018 Enamel on canvas 36 x 72 inches

No. 18 2018 Enamel on canvas 24 x 24 inches

No. 19 2018 Enamel on canvas 36 x 48 inches

River 2018 Enamel on canvas 24 x 72 inches

Northern Lights 2018 Mixed media on canvas 48 x 60 inches

Palisades 2018 Enamel on canvas 24 x 48 inches

Pharaoh 2018 Enamel on canvas 48 x 48 inches

The First Time 2018 Enamel on canvas 24 x 36 inches

Untitled 2018 Enamel on canvas 28 x 22 inches each

World In My Eyes 2018 Mixed media on canvas 36 x 48 inches

JOHN PL AT T

Born in 1984 in New York City, New York Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York

EDUCATION School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

2009 “Inside Out,” Wei Gallery, Singapore

“Spring Forward,” Gallery 151, New York, NY

“Group Show,” Gallery 151, New York, NY SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

“Traces,” Gallery Now, Stockholm, Sweden 2018 Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY

“Green Light Go,” Gallery 151, New York, NY 2017 Julie Keyes Projects, Palm Beach, FL 2008 “December Group Show,” Northern Projects, 2014 “Portraits 2014,” Gallery 151, New York, NY

Seattle, WA 2012 “Selected Paintings,” The Cityfirm, New York, 2007 “Annual Salon Show,” SFMA Boston, MA, NY

Special Jury Prize

“Private Conversations,” ArtNow, New York, “The New Portrait,” Fort Point Gallery, NY

Boston, MA 2011 “Interchange,” Gallery 151, New York, NY

“Student Annual Show,” SFMA Boston, MA 2010 “Downtown 2010,” Gallery 151, New York, NY

“Summer 2007 Group Show,” New England

Art Center, Boston MA SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

“Group Show,” Calumet Gallery, Boston, MA 2014 “Polish,” Rox Gallery, New York, NY 2006 “Student Salon Show,” SFMA Boston, MA 2013 “Rock Them,” Rox Gallery, New York, NY 2002 Manhattanville Arts Program group show 2012 “Art in the Yard,” The Jewish Center,

Easthampton, NY 2010 “Young Art,” Contemporary Space, Dublin, Ireland

“Group Show,” Rodriguez Gallery, Miami, FL

Catalog © 2018 NANCY MARGOLIS GALLERY Courtesy of Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York and John Platt © John Platt Photography © John Platt All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any other means, electronic or mechanical now known or hereafter invented, without written permission of publisher.