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Adam ROSS - Stacks and Subdivisions
Press release
Galerie Richard in New York will bring together two Californian artists, Adam Ross and Philip Argent, in the show “Stacks and Subdivisions” from May 3rd until June 23rd. This is Argent’s first show with Galerie Richard and Ross’ 8th, his first show in the new space in the Lower East Side. This show refers to space and colors specifics to the West Coast and to the interference of the digital world in it. The title refers to computer servers and rapidly changing technology, as both artists were amongst the first painters who visualized how the experience of digitalized and manipulated images in our daily life was changing our relation to painting.
Both artists seem to dip into the swift flow of digital information and balance that energy and stress by fixing one moment with care. The surgical precision of Philip Argent delimitations of spaces in acrylic, the variety of methods, from traditional painting methods to splatter painting and rubber-stamping are rich and time-consuming processes.
The same with Adam Ross paintings adding one layer of oil paint, letting it dry, then sanding it and adding another layer and so on In order to get this effect of light and darkness coming from inside the painting.
Philip Argent paintings feel digital, their composition is sharp and angular, and the colors Argent uses in his work range from a deep, almost blue-black, to a sickly radioactive orange. They seem to be various territories assembled together in one specific frame.
Adam Ross has always been interested in maps and topography. He constantly made drawings on paper related to this inspiration, The exhibited paintings because of their range of colors from deep blue to white, pink orange, red, yellow, suggests spectral digital images. These works could represent an abstract representation of a future L.A., with rising sea levels, the artist hometown becoming tiny islands bursting with color in a rich sea of purple.
Concerned with the current cultural landscape, Philip Argent and Adam Ross contrasts the rapid flow of data, often just a touch or few swipes away. In effect, these paintings represent digital moments frozen in the paint including scroll, flip slippage, and involuntary spatial disorders. in several exhibited paintings by Philip Argent small red shapes seem incongruous by their shape and by their density compared to the textural surrounding around. Within Adam Ross paintings there are ethereal matte squares floating in his glossy dark seas. These squares, which are meticulously arranged on the canvas, are so deeply mat and dark that they could also represent some unexpected interferences or digital viruses disrupting the original image. They also both assume that their paintings could be zoomed by the viewer in order to watch specific details. Their medium size formats are enjoyed at a distance for their complex perfect compositions and enjoyed as well very close to discovering sophisticated details and rich textures.
Philip Argent was born in 1962 in London and lives and works in Santa Barbara, CA. He received a MFA from the University of Nevada in 1994. Has been exhibited all over the West Coast since 1997. His work is in the collections of the MoMA, the Albright-Knox, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
Adam Ross was born in Pasadena, CA. in 1962 and currently lives and works in L.A. He received a MFA from the University of California in 1989 and held his first solo show the same year. His work is in the collection of Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the List Art Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.