March 14 - April 26, 2024
Abstract Frequency
Wienholt Projects is pleased to present Abstract Frequency, a group exhibition of abstract paintings by Preston Douglas, Jerry McLaughlin, Britt Michaelian, Joe Taveras, and Russell Young. The exhibition is on view March 14th – April 26th, with an opening reception on Thursday, March 14th, from 7-9pm.
Abstract painting of the 20th century belonged to a relatively small group of artists who were committed to breaking the image away from the confines of representation. The success of this endeavor validated abstraction’s presence in not only the art world but in society at large. The acceptance and absorption of the language of abstraction is evident in myriad realms of “mainstream” culture today; technology, fashion, journalism, movies and television all contain elements of the abstract mode of thinking pushed forward by 20th century painters. The conversation around abstraction, no longer limited to fine art, now has a feedback loop with the public.
(Left to right): Who’s Your Enemy, 2013, Mixed media on wood panel, 72 x 66 in , Untitled Painting w/ Accused + Jury + Shadow Men, 1986, Mixed media installation
The artists presented in Abstract Frequency, who have all arrived at abstract painting from other industries, are evidence of this feedback loop. Preston Douglas’s works are heavily influenced by the fashion industry; corporate logos and fashion fabrics are stretched and manipulated into new forms of “paintings” charged with material associations. Jerry McLaughlin, formerly a pediatric critical care physician, now produces pure abstract paintings. The emotional disconnect necessary for his previous work, when applied to artmaking, becomes a poetic and formalist exploration into shape and surface. Britt Michaelian, trained in Reiki and art therapy, abstracts tenets and symbols of her healing practice into meditative images. Joe Taveras’s background is in robotics. Freed from the logical constraints of machine design, his expressive gestures form loose almost-figures. Russell Young’s practice draws from his early career photographing musicians and directing music videos for MTV. Young’s abstract works, lesser-known than his iconic silkscreen portraits, reveal and formalize a more primal energy.
Exhibiting Artists
Preston Douglas Boyer
Jerry McLaughlin
Britt Michaelian
Joe Taveras
Russell Young
(Left to right): Always Forever In The Hands of God, 2017, Mixed media painting on 4-ply strathmore archival paper, 40 x 32 in, Untitled Painting w/ Praying Man + Tank, 2017, Mixed media painting on 4-ply strathmore archival paper, 40 x 32 in, Abu Ghraib, 2006, Mixed media on canvas, 72 x 60 in
About Feldsott
Feldsott (b. Chicago, IL, 1954) is a painter based in Northern California. He studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (undergraduate) and the California College of the Arts (graduate). Feldsott’s works have been exhibited at museums including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1975 and 1979); the Minnesota Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN (1978); Casa Museo Guayasamín, Quito, Ecuador (2002); the Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA (2003); the Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA (2017); and the de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA (2020); and galleries including Michael Wyman Gallery, Chicago, IL (1974); Marianne Deson Gallery, Chicago, IL (1978); Paul Mahder Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2008 and 2011); Vendome Gallery, New York, NY (2013); GAG Projects, Adelaide, Australia (2020); and Amelie A. Wallace Gallery, SUNY Old Westbury, New York, NY (2022).
Website: www.feldsott.com
Instagram: @feldsott