Margins

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NATE CASSIEJOSEPH COHENLARRY GRAEBERTOM HOLLENBACKCORNELIA WHITE SWANNROBERT TIEMANN

MARGINS

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Making work without any referential identity can be hard to do. Even so-called

abstract work by its very nature is referential. Most of our understanding comes

by way of our associative intuitiveness and a good part of that is through visual

referencing.

With this in mind, I have decided to focus this exhibition on artists who explore a

“nonobjective initiative” - approaches that entail formulating ideas and creating

objects by exploring strategies and methods applied to and in dialogue with a few

chosen materials. This approach is less driven by subjugating or conforming materials

into some deliberate likeness but one of following the lead of a strategy and its

interplay with a chosen media, a task embroiled in action and reaction, assertions and

adjustments, certainty and uncertainty, until a resulting artifact emerges.

Using a variety of materials, both conventional and unconventional, the essence of

the resulting work stems from the unique strategies implemented by each of the

artists. Some approaches entail adherence to particular schools of thought as with

Joseph Cohen’s attention to the principles of the theory of “concrete art,” where he

stresses attention to the properties of his materials as they assume shape and color

when layered over the objects on which he paints. Tom Hollenback, on the other hand,

uses less conventional materials to introduce new possibilities that alter his materials’

original utilitarian intentions to make objects of light, color and form.

Seeking to distance himself from representational tendencies of realistic painting,

Robert Tiemann pursues the development of concepts that dissolve hierarchies; thus,

by implementing matter-of-fact materials, string, dowels or pegboard, he is able to

achieve equitable grid pattern paintings. Nate Cassie, Cornelia White Swann, and I

explore unique approaches of technique-driven management of so-called conventional

WITHOUT LIKENESS

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art media. Swann’s approach is to apply a technique she calls “desire paths,” where

she controls streams and puddles of acrylic paint while they are under the influence

of the contours of her studio floor. For his paintings, Cassie makes use of a couple

of strategies that adhere to principles he identifies as “nature’s rules,” by employing

a “drip pour” technique of squeezing paint from a bottle and layering paint so that it

assumes a flow that can be perceived as a “perception of chance.” I begin with one or

two specific elements, then assess and manage my tools with an accumulated visual

vocabulary to realize a resulting artifact.

Whether by methodology or technique, implemented instinctively or by some

pragmatic rule, these disciplined practitioners skillfully illustrate the inventive nature

of creativity. These works resonate with vitality and resolve, and whether dissident

or harmonious, they capture our attention, inviting us to explore, revealing subtle

inferences and distinct vantage points that sustain our scrutiny in the delight of

discovery.

- Larry Graeber

We work in the dark - we do what we can - we give what we have. Our doubt isour passion, and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art.

HENRY JAMES

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NATE CASSIEFor the last eight years or so Nate Cassie

has sustained a practice, in and among

his other work, of making paintings he

refers to as “drip pour” paintings. These

paintings are the result of a technique of

rotating panels on the wall and squeezing

paint from a hair coloring bottle and then

allowing them to drip and dry.

St. John’s Wort, 30" x 30", enamel on panel, 2003

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While they may look effortless, the

preparation is exhaustive, beginning with

multiple layers of paint sanded between

each coat to obtain the right surface

and then followed by the trial and error

of his gestural final marks. Whether

painting in the “drip pour” manner or

with his spacious floating ellipses, Cassie

maneuvers his expression in search of the

flow, the “perception of chance,” he sees

as “nature’s rules.”

Fluid and spacious, or congested and

dense, Cassie’s instinctive color and

intriguing marks elicit an innate response,

one that captures our attention to ponder

and decipher his paintings and glean from

their subtle implications.

Avalanche #5, 30" x 30", enamel on panel, 2005

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JOSEPH COHENRather than pouring paint on objects as

might be assumed, Joseph Cohen uses

brushes to lay his paint down.

The mechanics of brushing reinforces

for him an engagement that delivers

the pieces from chance to a state of

refinement. He resolutely and patiently

can work on a single piece for months

or years. Besides building surfaces

to paint, he also takes banal objects,

Proposition 21, 37" x 38" x 3.5", reclaimed latex, enamel, and latex on vinyl and birch, 2007

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like cigar boxes, presentation cabinets

and paint cans, and veils them in the

same meticulous manner, layering

strata that then runs. This results in

what Cohen refers to as “concrete art,”

stressing elements in a fundamental way

that reinforces the character of paint, its

color, the form of the armature and the

light that falls on them.

Cohen calls his work a “proposition

of offerings,” a theoretical premise of

painting and perception, unconcerned

with picture making. Their rugged and

epic appearance compels exploration,

rewarding us as we search their

mysterious layers of time.

Proposition 203, 43" x 25", reclaimed latex and enamel on panel, 2007

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My primary focus is painting and

moderately scaled sculpture. Produced

with brushes, trowels, squeegees and

sticks on canvas, coalescing in reactive

encounters, my paintings incorporate

aspects of expressionism and formalism.

I often like to refer to this activity as

“measuring districts for a chance of

change.”

LARRY GRAEBER

Red Dash, 29" x 26", oil on canvas, 2011

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My sculpture, on the other hand, is about

an effort to incorporate common and

cast-off materials and fashion them into

intriguing, aesthetically pleasing objects,

simple and coherent.

The effort in both of these expressions

is to emulate my fondness for nature,

phenomena and convergences, as a

means to discover orders and structures.

April Noise, 39.5" x 58", oil on canvas, 2011

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The architecture and engineering of

“built landscapes” that punctuate our

surroundings inspire Tom Hollenback’s

use of construction materials as a medium

for his aesthetic investigations. With a

direct approach and a less-is-more ethos,

Hollenback uses plexiglass and steel

studs and transforms their utilitarian

intent into sculptural objects that capture

light and present visual intrigue.

TOM HOLLENBACK

Volumetric Painting - Green/Gold Rectangle, 6.5" x 4" x 4", cast acrylic paint and wood, 2009-2010

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Hollenback’s “volumetric paintings” are

made of paint and wood, the result of

pouring paint of different viscosities and

transparencies into wooden molds he

has made. After weeks and months of

pouring and drying, he releases the paint

to rest as an encrusted block of paint.

The interior/exterior effects of the

plex/steel sculptures raise questions

of transparency and interiority, while

the “volumetric paintings” challenge

the norms of artistic painting, raising

questions of priority, medium or mass.

Both of these sculptural expressions

assert provocative premises that

challenge our notions of certainty

and absolutes.

Volumetric Painting - Red Rectangle, 4.5" x 7" x 4.5", cast acrylic paint and wood, 2009-2010

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Working on watercolor and synthetic

paper, Swann prompts ink, watercolor

and acrylic mediums to flood her paper

in concert with phenomena, achieving

expressive compositions. Laying her

paper on the irregular studio floor, Swann

maneuvers the diluted medium, shifting

the paper over the contours of the floor

in a manner that achieves what she calls

CORNELIA WHITE SWANN

Untitled (Green), 17"x 21", acrylic on synthetic paper, 2009

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“desire paths.” Often, she arrests these

paths with opaque rectangles or heavily

brushed acrylic, evoking impressions of

tension and boundaries.

A sense of territory and place embody

Swann’s works, waterways contoured and

shaped by nature and intervention. Her

orchestration of these places or vantage

points elicits a sense of both ease and

risk as contrary elements collide. In this

collision, a drama ensues, evidence of

consequences, tenuous comfort, and

moments of risk for the sake of beauty.

Untitled (Red), 17" x 21", acrylic on synthetic paper, 2009

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Anchoring canvas on an oversized table

and using string to make grid patterns

of varying sizes was a seminal moment

for Robert Tiemann. Looking to distance

himself from realistic tendencies, he

began experiments “… to see how far

away I could get from realistic painting.”

Tiemann’s investigations make him acutely

aware that the grids dissolve the notion

ROBERT TIEMANN

Untitled, 13" x 4 1/2", plywood, latex, acrylic, 1994

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of hierarchical meaning: “ no area is more

important than another.” In one way or

another, the grid anchors and informs

all of his work, filling his bowls, topping

circular wall reliefs, and informing his

recent dowel and pegboard paintings.

Tiemann organizes, manages and coaxes

his material in a manner he refers to as,

“a dialogue with the materials.”

With finesse and attention to detail,

he makes discernible each element,

achieving a gestalt of rest and continuity.

This process results in arranged orders

that implicate social and organic

structures of equity.

Untitled, 15.5" x 12.75", masonite, pegs, acrylic, 2007

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NATE CASSIELeaves on a River (blue), 55" x 115" x 4", enamel on panel, 2007

Nelumbo, 60" x 60", enamel on panel, 2003

St. John’s Wort, 30" x 30", enamel on panel, 2003

Avalanche #5, 30" x 30", enamel on panel, 2005

Anger Control Study, 13" x 13", enamel and acrylic on panel, 2004

Avalanche #6, 13" x 13", enamel and acrylic on panel, 2005

Orange Pink Blue, 60" x 30", enamel and flashe on panel, 2010

JOSEPH COHENProposition 106, 29.5" x 51" x 1.25", reclaimed latex, enamel,

automotive paint, resin on pine, 2009

Proposition 27, 16.25" x 13.5" x 4.25", reclaimed latex, resin, epoxy,

and latex on Brazilian cherry wood and oak, 2007

Study for Proposition with Paint Can, 8" x 12" x 8", reclaimed latex,

bubble pack on paint can, 2011

Proposition 14, reclaimed latex and enamel on white pine and

redwood, 16.5" x 13.9" x 4.5", 2007

Study with Paint Brush, 13" x 9" x 4", reclaimed latex enamel on

brush and pine, 2010

Proposition 203, 43" x 25", reclaim latex and enamel on panel, 2011

Proposition 10, 14" x 11" x 2", reclaimed latex on reclaimed wood,

2007

Proposition 21, 37" x 38" x 3.5", reclaimed latex, enamel, and latex on

vinyl and birch, 2007

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LARRY GRAEBERIntercept, 54" x 95", oil on canvas, 2011

Inlet, 70" x 68", oil on canvas, 2011

Red Dash, 29" x 26", oil on canvas, 2011

Two Reds, 16" x 30", oil on canvas, 2009

April Noise, 39.5" x 58", oil on canvas, 2011

Tripod, 70" x 24" x 22", wood, latex and enamel, screws, 2011

Wire and Tube, 23" x 11" x 6", wire, wood, paint, tube, 2011

Platform 112, 24"x 8"x 7", wood, wire, foam, aluminum, 2009

Tube Collection, 29" x 7" x 8", wood, paint, tubes, 2011

Paper Chase, 44" x 10.5" x 7.5", cardboard, wire, wood, latex paint, 2009

TOM HOLLENBACKVolumetric Painting - Brown, 5.75" x 3" x 5.5", cast acrylic paint and

wood, 2006-2009

Volumetric Painting - Gold/Brown, 6.5" x 5" x 5", cast acrylic paint and

wood, 2010-2011

Volumetric Painting - Green/Gold Rectangle, 6.5" x 4" x 4", cast acrylic

paint and wood, 2009-2010

Triple Channel, 110" x 16" x 114", glass and steel, 2011

Volumetric Painting - Red Rectangle, 4.5" x 7" x 4.5", cast acrylic paint

and wood, 2009-2010

Volumetric Painting - Graphite/Cedar, 6.125" x 6.75" x 5.125", cast acrylic


Volumetric Painting - Olive Green Cube, 4.5" x 3.75" x 3.75", cast acrylic


Volumetric Painting - Orange Rectangle, 4.25" x 17" x 5.25", cast acrylic

paint and wood, 2009

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CORNELIA WHITE SWANNUntitled, 22" x 30", watercolor on paper, 2004

Untitled, 22" x 30", watercolor on paper, 2004

Untitled, 22" x 30", watercolor on paper, 2004

Untitled (Red), 17" x 21", acrylic on synthetic paper, 2009

Untitled (Green), 17" x 21", acrylic on synthetic paper, 2009

Untitled, 24"x 60", acrylic on synthetic paper, 2010

Untitled, 22" x 30", ink on watercolor paper, 2009






ROBERT TIEMANNUntitled, 60" x 60", canvas, jute, acrylic binder, 1986

Untitled, 60" x 60", canvas, string, acrylic binder, latex, 1985

Untitled, 60" x 60", canvas, string, acrylic binder, aluminum oil base

paint, 1985

Untitled, 10.5" x 7.375" x 7.375", wood, particle board, dowels,

marbles, latex paint, 2005

Untitled, 14" x 3 1/2", canvas, string, and enamel, wood, latex, 1994

Untitled, 13" x 4 1/2", plywood, latex, acrylic, 1994



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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Nate Cassie, Joseph Cohen, Cornelia White

Swann and Robert Tiemann for opening their studios to me, putting

up with my snooping around, and supplying not only their work but

support material. Thanks to Tom Hollenback for his willingness to

do this project via e-mail. Also thanks to the Wade Wilson Gallery

for assistance.

Many thanks to Scott Sherer for inviting us to do this summer show.

His guidance and direction throughout and his advice and editing

were indispensable. Finally, my thanks to the University of Texas

at San Antonio for commitment to the liberal arts, seeing to it that

this fine exhibition space exists, and for support of the arts in the

community at large.

Larry Graeber

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