Cary Smith, Splat #25, oil on linen, 17" x 17", 2011
ICE WATER FLYSWATTER: Abstract Painting on Holiday in the Philadelphia Summer
Curated by Douglas Witmer
August 2 - September 1, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, August 2, 2013, 6pm -10pm
PHILADELPHIA, PA-
Tiger Strikes Asteroid presents a most refreshing August exhibition, ICE WATER FLYSWATTER: Abstract Painting on Holiday in the Philadelphia Summer
Curated by Douglas Witmer, August 2 -- September 1, 2013. Please join us for the Reception Friday August 2, 6-10pm
The majority of the participating artists will be in attendance
Alain Biltereyst (Belgium)
Mary Bucci McCoy (Massachusetts)
Donald Martiny (North Carolina)
Cary Smith (Connecticut)
Mark Wethli (Maine)
Paige Williams (Ohio)
--with a special poem/drawing by Philadelphia artist Ian White Williams commissioned for the exhibition.
ICE WATER FLYSWATTER
is a focused group of paintings, selected by Philadelphia artist
Douglas Witmer, conceived specifically as an exhibition for the summer.
The seven international artists represented in the show share an
approach to contemporary abstract painting that may be seen as rooted in
the tradition of reductivism. These are painters who begin with
cold-minded conceptual intentions about the outcomes of their works. Yet
in their varied buoyant colors, off-kilter compositions, and an
openness to process-related incident, they sacrifice nothing when it
comes to the celebration of visual delight, fun and joy. As the artist
Cary Smith has said, “I believe you can make intense rigor that also
feels good to have around."
Alain Biltereyst makes small paintings that recall hard edge geometric
work of the 1960s. Through his use of raw plywood as a support and the
presence of deliberate errors the geometric shapes, Biltereyst teases
fresh references to contemporary everyday life. His work has recently
been exhibited at Devening Projects in Chicago, Jack Hanley Gallery, New
York, and widely throughout northern Europe. He lives and works near
Brussels, Belgium.
Mary Bucci McCoy lives and works in Beverly, MA. Her tonal paintings in
ghostly pastel colors are often punctuated by moments of heavy impasto
application, sometimes addressing the side of the panel, calling
attention to notions of scale, the painting surface, and the idea of the
painting as an object on the wall. Bucci McCoy was the recipient of a
2012 painting fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and
her work has recently been exhibited at Kingston Gallery, Boston and
Rhode Island College, Providence.
Donald Martiny's hybrid painting/reliefs appear as single brushstrokes
blown up to monumental scale, almost leaping off the wall in jubilant
monochrome colors. Recent exhibitions of his work include George Lawson
Gallery, Los Angeles, Galerie Urbane, Marfa and Dallas TX, and Carrack
Modern Art, Durham NC. He lives and works in Chapel Hill, NC.
With an impeccable sense for color and painting technique, Cary Smith
makes what appear to be hard-edge abstractions, often with “goofy”
images that suggest deeply personalized narratives. Over the past three
decades his work has been exhibited widely in the United States and
Europe and is in numerous collections including the Whitney Museum, the
Brooklyn Museum, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Fogg Art Museum.
He is the recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts,
the Gottlieb Foundation, and the Pollock Krasner Foundation. Cary Smith
is represented by Feature Inc. New York. He lives in Farmington. CT.
Mark Wethli's imagery is firmly and physically linked with his
sensibility for materials. His work evokes the rustic Americana of the
early 20th century like folk art, game boards, and architecture.
Wethli's work has been exhibited widely and is in the collections of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Portland Museum. He is the recipient
of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Pollock
Krasner Foundation. He is Professor of Art at Bowdoin College in
Brunswick, ME.
Utilizing the energy of colors interacting with each other and the edges
of the painting surface, the work of Paige Williams reveals the tension
of one at the edge of relinquishing control and reveling in the absurd
and unexpected. Her work has been exhibited internationally and she is
the recent recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence
Award. She is Professor of Painting and Drawing at The Art Academy of
Cincinnati, OH.
Exhibition curator Douglas Witmer commissioned Philadelphia-based artist
Ian White Williams to make a hybrid poem/painting specifically for this
show. Formerly the lead singer and lyricist of a internationally
touring punk band, Williams' work in painting combines delicate surfaces
and improvised gestures and often includes or is informed by his
poetry. Williams work has recently been exhibited at Parallel Art Space
in Brooklyn, Larry Becker Contemporary Art, and FJORD, Philadelphia.
ICE WATER FLYSWATTER: Abstract Painting on Holiday in the Philadelphia Summer
Curated by Douglas Witmer
August 2 - September 1, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, August 2, 2013, 6pm -10pm
August promises to be a busy month!
Please join the Tiger Strikes Asteroid members as we travel to TSA New York for Correspondence II, August 9 – September 1, 2013.
Opening Reception: Friday, August 9, 2013, 7 – 10 PM
TSA New York is pleased to announce the opening of Correspondence II, a group exhibition featuring the work of Tiger Strikes Asteroid Philadelphia members: Jaime Alvarez, Keith Crowley, Rubens Ghenov, Alexis Granwell, Ezra Masch, Nora Salzman, Caroline Santa, Theresa Saulin Frock, Anne Schaefer, and Douglas Witmer. Correspondence II is the second part of an exchange between the two locations. The first part, Correspondence I, happened in March 2013 and featured the work of TSA New York members in Philadelphia.
Founded in 2009, Tiger Strikes Asteroid Philadelphia is an artist-run
and artist-curated exhibition space located at 319A North 11th Street.
Their goal is to connect the Philadelphia art scene to the global art
community by showing the work of emerging artists from Philadelphia and
other cities such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
TSA New York was founded in 2012 when founding member Alex Paik
relocated from Philadelphia to New York. TSA New York seeks to invite a
dialogue between an eclectic mix of artists and curatorial visions with a
focus on emerging artists from New York and beyond.
Both spaces exist and operate as a result of the diligent efforts of
their artist members. The artist-run collective can be an extension of
studio, an experimental venue, or provide the possibility of research
into how others make things. In both TSA galleries, the role of artist,
curator, and administrator is constantly in flux between members. This
unique hybrid role provides a new way for each of us to correspond with a
larger community.
For more information please contact TSA.
Correspondence II
August 9 – September 1, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, August 9, 2013, 7 – 10 PM
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 12pm-6pm and by appointment
Please ring bell to enter during normal hours.
