PETER LODATO RECENT WORKS
PETER LODATO RECENT WORKS WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY
RECENT WORKS A
California native, Peter Lodato began making work in the late 1960s as part of the West Coast-specific Light and Space movement. Aligned with the concerns of his contemporaries, Lodato first constructed light installations that explored the nature of perception and the way that physical environments could be transformed into immersive experiences for the viewer. Lodato’s paintings evolved from his preliminary drawings for these installations and eventually, Lodato was able to recreate the illusive effect of light with color, form, and canvas alone. Always fascinated by the uncertainty of human perception, and the duplicitous nature of vision, which can be both revealing and deceitful, Lodato creates paintings that delve into this duality. Upon first read they are austere, geometric abstractions. After further observation, however, the paintings begin to vibrate: brushstrokes become evident and the surface reveals that there are numerous layers beneath. The hard edges of his often bichromatic works dissipate into sensuous fields of color that seem to push space in and out. Lodato’s reductive, divided compositions are visual confrontations between the planar simplicity of form and the resonance of particular pigments. A disciple of the AbEx color field painter, Barnett Newman, Lodato’s sumptuously colored canvases echo Newman’s concept of using division as a way to merge different areas of the canvas into a sublime whole. Much like Newman’s “zips” of color, Lodato’s vertical bands draw the viewer deeply into the picture plane, causing them to intensely experience the work, both physically and emotionally. The Frederick Weisman Foundation curated an extensive solo retrospective of Lodato’s work in 2000 and his work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Peter Lodato is in numerous esteemed collections both public and private including the Brooklyn Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art and the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art.
Nick, 2017, oil on canvas, 48” x 36”
Piano #2, 2017, oil on canvas, 48” x 36”
Four, 2016, oil on canvas, 30” x 24”
The title of Peter’s previous show at the gallery referenced the
work of a long history of Spanish masters - El Greco, Goya, Velázquez, Ribera, and de Zurbarán - whose work so exulted in the allure and mystery of the color black that they became known as The Spanish Blacks. Lodato paid homage to these classical masters and re-examined their palette in several of the large-scale works for his previous exhibition. Lodato’s new paintings also continue the artist’s use of color to explore effects of light and space. Adhering to reductive, often binary field / ground compositions, the paintings resonate almost as optical tuning forks. Less obviously, vibrant colors radiate beneath mono-chromed surfaces like sunlight behind the haze. The effect is subtle but compelling, activating the work with a seductive pulse. Texture plays a role as well, where deftly scumbled surfaces are set against deep voids of color. The sense of space alters with changes in focus. As one adjusts to these subtle rhythms within and between the paintings, there is a palpable shift in perception, as the aesthetic experience becomes a meditative one. Writing for the LA Times, art critic David Pagel stated, “Lodato’s art requires visitors to pay close attention to subtle fluctuations in their surroundings. In the same way that echoes remind us that seemingly empty spaces are actually full of phenomena, his works sharpen our perceptions. And, like echoes, they do not broadcast their messages loudly or aggressively: The ones with the strongest impact are those that hum just above the threshold of silence.” Peter Lodato’s work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the LA County Museum of Art. In 2000, The Frederick R. Weisman Museum mounted a solo retrospective on the artist. Peter Lodato’s work is in numerous esteemed collections, both public and private, including the Brooklyn Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art. -William Turner
Pink and Black, 2017, oil on canvas, 72” x 48”
White and Red Number Two, 2017, oil on canvas, 72” x 48”
Two, 2017, oil on canvas, 72” x 48”
Two Plus Two, 2016 oil on canvas, 60” x 48”
Two Plus Two, 2016, oil on canvas, 30” x 24”
Two Plus Two Equals One, 2014, oil on canvas, 24” x 18”
Vermillion #2, 2017, oil on canvas, 48” x 36”
White Diamond, 2014, oil on canvas, 79” x 71”
Window #2, 2013, oil on canvas, 84” x 36”
Yen and Yang #5, 2016, oil on canvs, 30” x 24”
One and One, 2016, oil on canvas, 48” x 36”
Indigo #2, 2017, oil on canvas, 48” x 36”
Gate, 2013, oil on canvas, 84” x 36”
Hero, oil on linen, 84” x 62”
Ochre and Black Number 2, 2017, oil on canvas, 72” x 48”
Sun and Steel Number Two, 2017, oil on canvas, 48”x36”
Four, 2015, oil on canvas, 48” x 36”
White Door, 2015, oil on canvas, 48” x 36”
Red Studio No Studio #2, 2010, oil on canvas, 40” x 26”
Blue and White, 2017, oil on canvas, 48”x36”
Pool 2, 2007, oil on linen, 96” x 42”
Buscar Blue, 2006, oil on canvas, 101.5” x 75.5”
Azure, 2013, oil on canvas, 44” x 28”
Center, 2015, oil on canvas, 48” x 24”