October
31-November 6, 2002
|
The
Victoria H. Meyhen Gallery, in the Shwayder Art Building on the University
of Denver's campus (2121 East Asbury Avenue, 303-871-2846, is hosting
an exqusite exhibit titled: Ronald Davis: Recent Abstractions:
2001–2002. The show, which was organized by Gwen Chanzit,
a professor of art history at DU and a curator in the Denver Art Museum's
department of modern and contemporary art.
Davis
enjoyed a measure of fame as a painter in the 1960s, but today is known
mainly to specialists in abstract art. Chanzit came up the the idea for
this show a few months ago, after visiting the artist at his studio compound
in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico. Davis lives and works in a series of hogans
made from geometric domes that relate flawlessly to the painted constructions
on view at the Myhren.
Those
pieces are fascinating for several reasons, not the least of which is
that they refer to post-minimalism by breaking with the flat-surface
standard of painting. Although they look like paintings at first, they
are actually
wall sculptures — or, at the very least, reliefs, like "Trompe
Trapezoids".
Davis
begins with expanded PVC plastic, which he cuts and joins into elaborate
shapes. After filling and finishing the shapes, he paints them with acrylic
pigments. In some places, the painting gives the illusion of three-dimensionality;
in others, three-dimensional spaces are painted to appear flat. Davis
enhances the forms' shadowy passages by painting them darker shades of
the colors used on adjacent flat areas.
In
addition to these abstract constructions, the show also includes Davis's
computer-generated prints. Like his painted works, they are based on an
exploration of geometry.
Finding
parking around DU can be a nightmare (try the visitors' lot as Asbury
and Race), but once you see this magical show, you'll be glad you went
to the trouble.
—Michael
Paglia
|