Show at Hosfelt Gallery with Cool Stuff

                                             

BEN McLAUGHLIN  The Night Sky  REED DANZIGER  The Edge of Chaos     21 March - 3 May, 2014 Reception: Thursday 20 March, 6-8pm

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BEN McLAUGHLIN   The Night Sky    Ben McLaughlin's second solo exhibition at Hosfelt Gallery consists of approximately 60 paintings ranging in size from 2 x 1 inches to 5 x 7 feet. The title of the exhibition, "The Night Sky," comes from an old science book that fascinated the artist as a child. In this body of work, McLaughlin explores the peculiar states of mind conjured in the dark of night.   McLaughlin's nocturnal images are voyeuristic views of intimate moments. Painted in a style that evokes a bygone era, their ambiguous scenarios in half-light and muted tones summon fleeting memories and existential musings.

This is the world of the insomniac - silent and isolated. Where time slows to a standstill and you're alone with your thoughts. McLaughlin's images of second-rate motel rooms with their neatly-made beds suggest an addictive nomadism, a life spent in nebulous drift between here and there. Cropped glimpses of anonymous women in various stages of undress punctuate these nocturnal imaginings with longing and the desire for the distraction of sex, but in no way ease the relentless loneliness. These paintings keep us transfixed in anticipation, watching and waiting for something to happen, even if it's only for day to break.    Ben McLaughlin was born in London in 1969. He received a BA from London's Central St. Martin's School of Art and an MA in printmaking from Camberwell College of Art, London. The Paintings of Ben McLaughlin, a recent monograph published by Merrell with an essay by James Hamilton, will be available for purchase.

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REED DANZIGER  The Edge of Chaos    In her eighth solo exhibition at Hosfelt Gallery, Reed Danziger presents new works on paper, ranging in scale from 22 x 22 to 40 x 40 inches. Working with ink, watercolor, graphite and gouache, Danziger allows the interaction of materials and the accumulation of marks to determine the development of each piece. Danziger has developed a visual language that captures moments of transition and flux - the emergence, transformation, and dissolution of systems and structures. Although her work draws some inspiration from scientific, mathematical, and biological forms, her process is essentially intuitive - an organic and gradual build-up of intricate layers and spontaneous drips and splashes. Precariously balancing control and chaos, she allows the unpredictable subtleties of the various mediums to dictate the evolution of the composition. Erasing and obscuring is oftentimes just as important as the introduction of new forms. Born in Berkeley, CA in 1966, Danziger received an M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1995 and has been represented by Hosfelt Gallery since her graduation. Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and was recently included in a traveling museum exhibition of work from the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation Collection. Danziger lives in the Bay Area.

Hosfelt Gallery San Francisco is located at 260 Utah Street, between Potrero & San Bruno and 15th & 16th streets. Hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 6pm. For more information call 415.495.5454, email info@hosfeltgallery.com, or visit hosfeltgallery.com.  (Wheelchair accessible entrance located at 255A Potrero Avenue)

images top to bottom:       

Ben McLaughlin, 02:09, 2013, oil on card mounted on panel, 5 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches  

Ben McLaughlin, 05:20, 2013, oil on card mounted on panel, 3 1/8 x 4 1/8 inches
Ben McLaughlin, 03:04, 2013, oil on card mounted on panel, 3 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches
Ben McLaughlin, 04:15 Inside the Actors Studio, 2012, oil on card mounted on panel, 7 1/2 x 9 7/8 inches  

Ben McLaughlin, 02:13, 2013, oil on card mounted on panel, 7 1/4 x 10 3/8 inches  

Reed Danziger, detail of work in progress, 2014