Kate Shepherd, Poly Geiger, 2012
Oil and enamel on panel
28 x 24 inches
March 30 – May 4, 2012
Anthony Meier Fine Arts is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings, drawings and sculptures by New York based artist Kate Shepherd. News from Biathlon highlights discrete trains of thought in Shepherd’s work. Known for employing the fundamental elements of geometric form and color to create beautiful investigations of perspective and space, Shepherd’s latest works both subscribe to and play around this base, introducing a looser spatial vantage point and a more layered, experimental approach to shape and process.
This new series of paintings refer directly to the act of viewing. Shepherd has imposed a plane on the foreground to act as a portal through which the trope of “space” can be seen. The measured drawing, which is often derived from the dimensions of the overall panel, can be viewed as a grid, a screen, cross-hairs – all to act as a site of focus. Departing from an even, uniform foundation of lacquer, Shepherd has developed a technique of subtraction, revealing luminous color beneath the surface, which introduces a randomness in the work for the first time.
News from Biathlon also debuts a grouping of hanging wire sculptures. Works extend, chaotically yet gracefully, from the ceiling: metal hangers twisted and shaped into elegant, linear constructions. In a new aspect of this work, some sculptures are cast or plated in different metals, bringing the delicacy of the wire into the material itself. All components are geometric in form but also nimble and fluid.
Shepherd’s experimentation around geometric principle continues in drawings made of triangular cells, exploring the delicate interplay of color. Generated from the original color study printed in Albers’ Interaction of Color, the now significantly enlarged work is comprised of screen-printed dots that fluctuate from light to dark. The overall scale of the triangles is more than four feet tall, which allows them to function in a more painting-like way while still being systematic and rooted within the confines of a Platonic color exercise.