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Edda Renouf: Sounds of Time

May 5 - August 5, 2016

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) March Sounds 2006 Acrylic on...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
March Sounds
2006
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
59 x 59 x 2 in; 149.9 x 149.9 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) November Echoes (Verion - I)...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
November Echoes (Verion - I)
2006
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
11 3/4  x 11 3/4 X 1 1/2 in; 29.8 x 29.8 X 3.8 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Sign - 9 (Autumn Gate) 2007...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Sign - 9 (Autumn Gate)
2007
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
20 x 20 x 2 in; 50.8 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Sign - 12 (Winter Energy) 20...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Sign - 12 (Winter Energy)
2007
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
20 x 20 x 2 in; 50.8 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Sign - 6 (Spring Energy, Ver...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Sign - 6 (Spring Energy, Version #2) or Milky Way - 1
2007 - 2009
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
20 x 20 x 2 in; 50.8 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) March Echoes (Version-I) 200...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
March Echoes (Version-I)
2008
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
11 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 1 1/2 in; 29.8 x 29.8 x 3.8 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) October Echoes (Version - I)...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
October Echoes (Version - I)
2008
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
11 3/4 x 11 3/4  x 1 1/2 in; 29.8 x 29.8 X 3.8 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Sign XIX, Spring Energy 2008...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Sign XIX, Spring Energy
2008-2009
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
40 1/8 x 40 1/8 x 2 in; 101.9 x 101.9 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Sign - 11 (Winter Rhythms) o...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Sign - 11 (Winter Rhythms) or Milky Way - 2
2008-2009
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
20 x 20 x 2 in; 50.8 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Sign VI Monte Alban, Oaxaca...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Sign VI Monte Alban, Oaxaca
2009
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
40 1/8 x 40 1/8 x 2 in; 101.9 x 101.9 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) May Sounds 2009-2011 Acrylic...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
May Sounds
2009-2011
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
59 x 59 x 2 in; 149.9 x 149.9 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Dawn Letter - 8 2014 Incised...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Dawn Letter - 8
2014
Incised and scraped oil pastel on Arches paper
17 3/4 x 15 in; 45.1 x 38.1 cm
Framed: 20 3/4 x 18 in; 52.7 x 45.7 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Dawn Letter - 12 2014 Incise...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Dawn Letter - 12
2014
Incised and scraped oil pastel on Arches paper
17 3/4 x 15 in; 45.1 x 38.1 cm
Framed: 20 3/4 x 18 in; 52.7 x 45.7 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Dawn Letter - 10 2014 Incise...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Dawn Letter - 10
2014
Incised and scraped oil pastel on Arches paper
17 3/4 x 15 in; 45.1 x 38.1 cm
Framed: 20 3/4 x 18 in; 52.7 x 45.7 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Diagonal II (Early Spring En...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Diagonal II (Early Spring Energy)
2015
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
15 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 1 1/2 in; 40 x 40 x 3.8 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) June Sounds 2016 Acryli...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
June Sounds
2016
Acrylic on linen, removed and reapplied threads
59 x 59 x 2 in; 149.9 x 149.9 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Sign XX, Summer Energy 2016...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Sign XX, Summer Energy
2016
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
40 1/8 x 40 1/8 x 2 in; 101.9 x 101.9 x 5.1 cm

Edda Renouf (b. 1943) Sign XXI, Autumn Energy, Nig...

Edda Renouf (b. 1943)
Sign XXI, Autumn Energy, Night Sky
2016
Acrylic on linen, removed & reapplied threads
40 1/8 x 40 1/8 x 2 in; 101.9 x 101.9 x 5.1 cm

Artist Page

Press Release

Barbara Mathes Gallery is pleased to announce Edda Renouf: Sounds of Time, an exhibition of Edda Renouf’s paintings and drawings from 2006 to 2016. Although widely exhibited internationally, a solo show of the artist’s paintings and drawings has not been seen in the United States since her 2004 exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Renouf’s meditative and tactile work is based on a deep engagement with her materials. In her attention to chromatic subtlety and pared-down geometries, Renouf’s art has often been related to Minimalism. However, her organic pictorial vocabulary, the lyricism of her forms, and her exploration of process result in work that is profoundly unique.

 

Fascinated by the physical qualities of linen, Renouf removes and repositions threads from the weave of her canvases before applying glazes of acrylic paint and sanding the paintings’ surfaces. Similarly, in her works on paper the artist incises lines before drawing in ink or after applying chalk or oil pastel. This process reveals the inherent structure of her supports which become not simply grounds onto which an image is imposed, but rather integral components of her compositions. In Sign 9, Autumn Gate (2007) the removed and reapplied threads create geometric yet organic triangular shapes with the simplicity of hieroglyphs. Indeed, the title of this work alludes to Renouf’s description of the abstract forms uncovered in her materials as metaphors or ‘signs’ that “appear with the removing and reapplying of threads.”  The resulting play of positive and negative space also reveals the artist’s temporal process of production: she has asserted that her works are “a record of the days, weeks, months and seasons when they were created.” Temporality is a consistent theme in her art: recurring rhythms recall the cycles of nature, the movement of sound waves, and the durational experience of music, all of which are inspirations for the forms and repetition that Renouf achieves in her singular drawings and paintings.

 

Born in 1943 in Mexico, Edda Renouf came to the United States in 1957. After receiving her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, she studied in New York, Paris, and Munich before receiving her M.F.A. from Columbia University. Her work is in the collections of numerous major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Centre Pompidou, and the British Museum. Edda Renouf lives and works in Paris.

 

Contact Information:

Barbara Mathes Gallery is located at 22 East 80th Street.  The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm and Saturday by appointment.  For more information or images, please contact the gallery at 212-570-4190 or art@barbaramathesgallery.com.

 

E-catalogue

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