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Liminal Focus

April 26 - June 30, 2017

Lenore Tawney, Drawing in Air IX, 1997, Linen thre...

Lenore Tawney, Drawing in Air IX, 1997, Linen thread in Plexiglas box, 14 x 16 x 10 1/2 in; 35.6 x 40.6 x 26.7 cm
© Lenore G. Tawney Foundation, Photographer George Erml

Carla Accardi, Bianco nero su turchese, 1960,...

Carla Accardi, Bianco nero su turchese, 1960, Casein tempera on paperboard mounted on linen, 18 1/2 x 27 in; 47 x 68.5 cm, Framed: 24 1/4 x 32 3/4 in; 62 x 83 cm

Lee Bontecou, Untitled, 1990, Graphite on paper, 1...

Lee Bontecou, Untitled, 1990, Graphite on paper, 17 x 14 1/16 inches; 43.2 x 35.7 cm, Framed: 25 1/2 x 22 1/4 inches; 64.8 x 56.5 cm

Jessi Reaves and Robert Bittenbender, Crust of the...

Jessi Reaves and Robert Bittenbender, Crust of the Lake, 2016, Glass, metal, wood, cloth, sawdust, tape, rubber, 30 x 41 x 41 in; 76.20 x 104.14 x 104.14 cm
© Jessi Reaves and Robert Bittenbender, Courtesy Bridget Donahue

Mariah Robertson, 91, 2016, Unique chemical treatm...

Mariah Robertson, 91, 2016, Unique chemical treatment on RA-4 paper, 25 x 27 in; 63.5 x 68.6 cm
© Mariah Robertson

Terri Friedman, WOW, 2016, Wool, acrylic, cotton f...

Terri Friedman, WOW, 2016, Wool, acrylic, cotton fibers, 68 x 68 in; 172.7 x 172.7 cm
© Terri Friedman

Carla Accardi, Per L'Infinito lo Scirocco...

Carla Accardi, Per L'Infinito lo Scirocco N.2, 1987, Vinyl on canvas, 57 x 57 in;144.8 x 144.8 centimeters

Mariah Roberston, 229, 2015, Unique chemical treat...

Mariah Roberston, 229, 2015, Unique chemical treatment on RA-4 paper, 71 x 50 in; 180.3 x 127 cm © Mariah Roberston

Claudia Wieser, Unttled, 2013, Mirror on MDF,...

Claudia Wieser, Unttled, 2013, Mirror on MDF, 124 x 59 in; 304.8 x 151.9 cm

Jessica Rankin, Infinite Descent, 2003, Embroidere...

Jessica Rankin, Infinite Descent, 2003, Embroidered Organdy, 46 x 32 in

Lee Bontecou, Untitled, 1965 Welded steel, 21 x 60...

Lee Bontecou, Untitled, 1965 Welded steel, 21 x 60 in; 152.4 x 76 cm

Terri Friedman, If you let me be in your dream , I...

Terri Friedman, If you let me be in your dream , I'll let you be in mine, 2017, Wool, acrylic, cotton fibers, 94 x 39 in; 238.8 x 99.1 cm © Terri Friedman

Press Release

Barbara Mathes Gallery is pleased to present Liminal Focus, curated by Jesse Penridge. The exhibition brings together artists of the last fifty years whose work denies singular categorization. In objects and images that straddle the worlds of painting, sculpture, and photography, these artists work to challenge our assumptions and understandings of terms such as design, fine art, architecture, craft, and poetry.

This exhibition will explore the nature and implications of definitions as they relate to the artists’ practice: do terms such as ‘painting’ or ‘craft’ play a necessary role in artistic production? Do they provide artists with useful barriers to push against or, do they simply pigeonhole and limit? In what ways do such precise labels help or hinder both maker and viewer?  

Liminal Focus surveys the boundary-breaking works of Carla Accardi, Lee Bontecou, Terri Friedman, Jessica Rankin, Jessi Reaves and Robert Bittenbender, Mariah Robertson, Lenore Tawney, and Claudia Wieser. Though associated with various movements and generations, the artists presented here have contributed to the evolution of their discipline by subverting the expectations of their media. That is to say, Tawney’s Drawings in Air (1997-98) up-end the notion of drawing as a two-dimensional practice while Accardi’s Bianco Nero su Turchese (1960) appropriates the visual language of calligraphy and symbology, while uniting the disparate worlds of design and abstraction. Refusing to conform to narrow descriptors, the work presented in Liminal Focus undermines boundaries, forcing us to redefine our understanding of artistic disciplines.

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.

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