On View: November 8 - December 20, 2014
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 8, 6.30-9pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, November 15th, 2pm
In his first solo exhibition with Civilian Art Projects, and his first solo exhibition in Washington D.C. since 2007, Jason Gubbiotti presents bold new paintings made in France and Switzerland over the past three years. His work continues to investigate abstract painting, while breaking new ground in surface and construction.
Hard-edged geometric abstractions, Gubbiotti's work can be grouped into two basic categories. According to the artist, “the first can be viewed as a set of paintings that are expanding. They present a range of exploration in approaches and strategies. The second is one of refinement where I have honed in and focused on creating a body of work that are very closely intertwined.”
WAR PAINT is an exhibition of expansion. These paintings were made over the past three years with no specific exhibition in sight. Making one work at a time, with each seemingly feeding the next, the result is an exhibition of works that are simultaneously unique and interdependent. Each finished piece informed the beginning of a new work, lending to a growth and understanding of each.
The result is a tight group of small- to medium-sized paintings that can only be referred to as siblings. Defined edges and expansive geometry push surface boundaries. Acrylic paint forms shuffled polygons, faded lines, and stacks of blocks. The compositions range from symmetrical to chaotic configurations and structures. The works are set on personalized supports (no two are the same) including stretched and laminated canvases, lean wood panels, ramp-like structures, and linen tacked to the wall.
In the essay, “Straight No Chaser,” artist and colleague Sylvan Lionni writes:
Let’s not pretend there’s anything rational about abstract painting, at least not the good ones. The bad ones make plenty of sense. And, Jason Gubbiotti’s new paintings are anything but rational….Gubbiotti tells me he isn’t looking to arrive at a point of completion and declaration, but rather a moment of transition and flux…. Gubbiotti approaches his work more inline with the abstract expressionists. He inserts a process that permits decisions to be made on the painting, and after often edits them by painting over forms or at times the entire surface. The end result is a painting that reveals its own personal history -- moments where mistakes have been made and then repaired.
Gubbiotti was born in Pennsylvania in 1975 and now resides outside of Paris, France in the countryside. He moved to Washington, DC in 1994 to attend the Corcoran College of Art + Design, where he earned his BFA in 1998. He lived in Washington until 2004. Since then, he has had group and solo exhibitions in the US, France, Germany and Switzerland; including Wexner Center for the Arts in Ohio, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Orange County Museum, Art Positions, Art Basel, Miami Beach, FRIART at the Kunstahalle Freiburg, American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Stadtgalerie, Sasrbrücken in Germany, and FUSEBOX gallery in Washington, DC. His work has been reviewed in The Washington Post, Art in America, Frieze, Modern Art Notes and Washington City Paper. Public viewing hours: Saturday 1 to 6pm and by appointment. To schedule an appointment please email info[at]civilianartprojects[dot]com with at least 24 hours notice. Not all appointments can be accommodated. Many apologies.
NEW LOCATION:
Civilian Art Projects / 4718 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20011 / 202-607-3804 Jayme McLellan, Director/Founder
