dayoutlast is a record of my direct engagement with mostly contemporary art, mostly Los Angelean.

As this blog has evolved since its 2010 inception, so has my perspective. What I once perceived as central within the investigation was what was central, literally, within the photographic frame that I shared here. While still an important consideration, such thinking has also given way to more peripheral considerations, ones also accompanied occasionally by text (written manifestation of thought) and the oscillations between them. What's missing here are larger unknowns surrounding issues of presentation and representation; the amount of time and space it actually takes to accomplish such first-hand observations; and the quandaries between documentation and interpretation.

Despite my attempt to communicate here with image and text what is essential in some respect about the artwork, neither representation should ever be considered a substitution for the primary viewing experience. Of course, occasionally there are exceptions.

Most of the time, these posts are merely remnants---residual fragments---from my last day out.

Friday, December 4, 2020

Lecia Dole-Recio 'Bossy Bottom" @ Commonwealth & Council

Disclaimer: I was conflicted about seeing this show in person given the status of the Covid 19 health crisis; I couldn't help myself, and I was grateful for the galleries attention to best business practices during this time.


Untitled (floor paper, medium, all gall), 2020 
Acrylic, gouache, oak gall ink, cochineal ink, walnut ink, graphite, paper, glue
Approx. 68.5 x 57.5 in (174 x 146 cm)




In person always better... Thinness. 
Flat, frontal, photographic reproductions fail in understanding depth with respect to the object as well as the sensory space. Cf. Lighting. 
Stains—color field. Integrated fluid and support (woven) 





Untitled (2 small layered gall outlines with blue line on right), 2020
Acrylic, gouache, graphite, oak gall ink, paper 
Approx. 16.75 x 12.25 in (43 x 31 cm)



Layering. Remnants. 
Additive/Subtractive—sculptural easiest of insistently flat, thin work. Works on paper despite actual material, which is to say more ephemeral than some. 
Transitional provisions seeking more permanent status or content as more vulnerable/ephemeral...?


Untitled (2 small layered gall outlines), 2020
Acrylic, gouache, graphite, oak gall ink, paper 20.5 x 14.25 in (52 x 36 cm)






Untitled (floor paper, 2 pinks, 4 purples), 2020 
Acrylic, gouache, oak gall ink, cochineal ink, walnut ink, graphite, paper, glue
Approx. 66 x 38 in (168 x 97 cm)








Untitled (floor paper, outlines, curves, edges), 2020 
Acrylic, gouache, graphite, oak gall ink, cochineal ink, walnut ink, paper, glue
89.5 x 74.5 in (227 x 189 cm)




Pin ups. Tapestries.  
Color shift in value intimates light and therefore depth with respect to space and therefore also time. Dimension. Cuts. Slices. Puzzle. Fit. Fragmentation. 
Not sure about footprints...Shabby or essential? What’s the opposite of precious? Not fussy...? Casual...?
The large rectangle holds clue as the key to the others with respect to shape, color, and process, how we are to see these works happening over time, multiple, layered events (cf. Carlo Rovelli's Order of Time—not diagrammatic, merely suggestive—quantum, multi-positional, interwoven layers). 




Untitled (wood, teal, black, and gall ink curves), 2020
Acrylic, gouache, graphite, oak gall ink, paper, wood 
Approx. 40.5 x 33 x 0.25 in (103 x 84 x 0.6 cm) 





Works on panel. Hard, flat, rigid support asserts a hold, so to speak (though literally) over the thinner, lighter more dependent (contingent on wall/architecture/built-environment/established “neutral” structure). cf. Patrick Hill (Strategy (Rigid support over work on paper) and palette (CMYK)). 
Contrasting materials—paper and grain, part of the same continuum. Convergence. Evolution. 





Untitled (floor paper, 2 large curves touching), 2020 
Acrylic, gouache, oak gall ink, cochineal ink, walnut ink, graphite, paper, glue
Approx. 79 x 60.5 in (201 x 154 cm)




Where the curves merge. And also diverge. 
Artifacts refuse preciousness while unifying. 
Ilusional, pictorial depth (angles).




Untitled (Black wood edge, wood stained section, pink paper drop shadow), 2020
Gouache, cochineal ink, wood stain, paper, glue, wood
Approx. 31 x 22.25 x 1.75 in (79 x 57 x 4 cm)






Testing out an idea when and where thin works are mounted and frames on panels...? A sketch or worthy finish?





Untitled (floor paper, 2 large curves with drop shadows), 2020
Acrylic, gouache, oak gall ink, cochineal ink, walnut ink, graphite, paper, glue
Approx. 104 x 75 in (264 x 191 cm)



Ink on paper or canvas with brushy, dry strokes. Drips. Suspended, temporal signifiers as well as formal language. Prints. Evidence. 
Contained parts of a greater whole, balanced at center. 
Asserting organic process above geometric framework, which may be to say a much more complex organic where geometry meets. 
 



I wonder how these works would read in other orientations, rotating around a central axis? For example, if these were like architectural plan views (viewed from above as they are made, I believe...), then it's quite possible that they could be viewed as sculpture in the round.  Not only could that be fun, but also may call attention to how these are illegible with respect to conventional reading, left to right, top to bottom. Or, is there a way...? As it is, they are attached to walls and to be seen as such. So, we must consider them as paintings/painted objects, certainly as something so shallow can simultaneously appear so deep.

Whatever questions and associations remain, they seem like good ones just as the works are themselves good. Something I enjoy about these as I have with past ones by Lecia are that they are, in fact, tough to pin down, so to speak.  Just as they defy photographic reproduction with respect to material nuance, I also like that they can't be quaintly cropped and trafficked easily, which is to say, if you didn't get a chance to see the show, hopefully there will be other times. 

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