Roni
Feldman
XOXO
Reception: Wednesday, February 9, from 6 to 8 pm
Exhibition: February 10 through March 12, 2011
Sloan Fine Art is pleased to present, in the project room, “XOXO,”
new paintings by Roni Feldman.
Roni Feldman believes, “There is a powerful energy that occurs in
crowds” and proves this point in his densely populated, airbrushed
acrylic works. Feldman’s crowds evoke the spirit and ecstasy of
unified intention alongside the melee of mob mentality. Whirls of figures
celebrate, rally, cheer, dance, and embrace alongside others that battle,
burn, sink, and dissolve. And with his even, indeed egalitarian, distribution
of imagery across the canvas, Feldman forces the viewer to slow down,
explore and process the entire surface of each painting, each face in
the crowd. At first glance, figures may feel similar, even repetitive.
But on closer inspection they reveal themselves as highly individualized,
emotionally charged and uniquely executed. And encouraging this act of
slowing down and experiencing the canvas intimately is of great importance
to Feldman. In an age where humanity is assaulted by a media-fueled torrent
of visual imagery as never before, taking the time to look becomes, in
Feldman’s words, a “generous” act. Acknowledging an
aesthetic drawn heavily from 1960's psychedelia, van murals, and other
airbrush art forms, Feldman also notes, “in my work, airbrushed
paint is like a thin veil that separates utopia and dystopia, civilization
and chaos. The blurred, ethereal nature of sprayed paint, along with its
flat, even application” creates a tension “between uniqueness
and difference, abstraction and representation.” And indeed it is
in this tense and glorious state of in-between that Feldman’s works
reside, deeply rewarding any viewer willing to take the time to slow down.
Roni Feldman earned his BA from UC Santa Barbara and his MFA from Claremont
Graduate University. His work has been shown worldwide, including solo
exhibitions at Toomey-Tourell Fine Art in San Francisco and Wilson Street
Gallery in Sydney, and group shows at the Torrance Art Museum, Charlie
Smith Gallery in London and Marina Abromovic Institute in San Francisco
to name a few. Feldman lives and works in the Brewery Arts Complex in
Downtown Los Angeles. “XOXO” is his first solo exhibition
in New York.
Sloan Fine Art is located at 128 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side
of New York City. Hours are Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 6, and by appointment.
To request more information or high-resolution jpegs, contact Alix Sloan
at alix@sloanfineart.com or 212.477.1140.
Images, left to right: "Paraprosdokian Kiss”
& “XOKO,” both 2010, acrylic airbrushed on canvas over
panel, 16” x 12”
