FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Meta Gallery is pleased to present Oliver Vernon: New Works on Paper. In the artist’s first Canadian solo exhibition, Vernon’s body of new work represents a pivotal shift in tone and evolved sense of precision in the artist’s oeuvre.
Working solely on paper, a first for a solo exhibition, the works presented reflect a transition from the form-based abstractions Vernon is best known for to expressing his unique vision through a more mature aesthetic presence and one moving closer and closer into the formless. One where the sinuous strands of what seem to be nothingness takes on a depth that belies their inherent intangibility and where through the harmoniously balanced tension that exists between form and the space around it, a paradox emerges. One whose resolution culminates with a deep appreciation for the artist’s uncanny ability to so exquisitely express the dichotomy of ordered chaos and the perfection found within, yet hidden in plain sight.
The Zen Buddhist adage, “Emptiness is nothing but form and form is nothing but emptiness” is an appropriate entry point for the conceptual exploration of Vernon’s meticulously detailed artworks. In In Between, an explosion of brushstrokes captures the viewer’s focus. Utilizing an extensive palette, what shines forth from the multitude of amorphous shapes and swathes of color is a precise system for translating the ineffable into a language - a form of communication not bound by the barriers of culture or ethnicity, yet one whose diversity is ultimately transcended by the experience of the whole as being greater than the sum of its parts. At a glance the works have an inherent movement to them, an intensity which is amplified by the interdependence and symbiosis of the form and formless, and the depiction of the universe as the perfectly balanced tension created by the polarities of life. What Oliver’s works do as a whole are point us towards the notion of the infinite within the nature of duality, and by experiencing one of his works we are moved towards wholeness ourselves.
Oliver Vernon was born in 1972 in New York City. He received his BFA from The Parsons School of Design in 1995 and currently lives and works in Brooklyn. Solo exhibitions of his work include: Macro/Micro, Irvine Contemporary Gallery, Washington DC, and Oliver Vernon, Microcosm Gallery, New York (2007); Infinity Within, Lineage Gallery, Philadelphia (2006); Live Paintings Remixed, Jan Larsen Fine Art, Brooklyn (2005); and Far, Spector Gallery, Philadelphia (2004). Selected group exhibitions include: Aspect: Ratio, Small-Format Paintings, Irvine Contemporary Gallery, Washington DC (2009); Mapmakers, Meta Gallery, Toronto, and Groundwork II, Foundation One Gallery, Decatur, GA (2008); Claimin Space—Context and Urban Art, BLVD Gallery, Seattle (2007); Square Foot, Thinkspace, Los Angeles, and Mescalito, White Walls Gallery, San Francisco (2006); Convergence, The Showroom, New York, and Minds Wide Open, Light Space Gallery, Venice, CA (2005).
New works on Paper will be on view from April 3 to May 10, 2009. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11-6 and Sunday from 12-5. The opening reception will be on Friday April 3 from 7-10pm. Artist in attendance.
For additional information please contact Jody Polishchuk at 416.955.0500 or jp@metagallery.com.
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