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About the event

Introduction

Name: Josh Sperling Spectrum HK
Start: 2021-05-08
End: 2021-06-12

Josh Sperling Spectrum Installation scene of "Spectrum E, F, G", 2021 | Photography: Farzad Owrang | Image Courtesy: Artist and Perrotin

Exhibition Introduction

Perrotin Hong Kong is honored to present the solo exhibition "Spectrum" by New York-based artist Josh Sperling, which is the artist's first exhibition in Hong Kong.

Josh Sperling Spectrum 2 Photo caption: Josh Sperling at Perrotin (Hong Kong) "Spectrum", 2021. Image courtesy of the artist and Perrotin.

Donald Judd's famous saying must have been inspired by his fellow artist friend and friend Frank Stella: “The main thing wrong with painting is that it is a rectangular plane placed flat against the wall” (“Specific Objects”, 1965). Five years before that, Stelle opened up new possibilities for art and art expression as she begun to create shaped paintings made out of aluminum and copper paint - often in an L, U, N or a T shape.

Josh Sperling Spectrum 3 Photo caption: Josh Sperling at Perrotin (Hong Kong) "Spectrum", 2021. Image courtesy of the artist and Perrotin.

It is this new art form and other formal art breakthroughs over the years that paved the way for Josh Sperling conceived two iconic shapes: "squiggles" and "double bubbles". Defying traditional and conventional art media, the “squiggles” and “double bubbles” are painted sculptural forms. In order to create these mixed-form works, the artist developed his own form of fine craftsmanship and used it to the extreme on the canvas: he stretched the canvas on a precision-cut stepped plywood support, in an arc or wavy line (squiggles), or two circles (double bubbles) that seem to stretch and separate. After this form is completed, he will use acrylic and varnish to carefully balance the matte and glossy surfaces.

Josh Sperling Spectrum 4 Photo caption: Josh Sperling at Perrotin (Hong Kong) "Spectrum", 2021. Image courtesy of the artist and Perrotin.

The result of this creation is full of endless, joyful possibilities. Having freed his art of the physical limitations in the form of painting, Sperling uses his "squiggles" to "draw" on the wall, restricted only by its physical parameters. As for the "double bubbles", he forms them into tondos using single circular forms, where the colors change as the form changes. The "squiggles" are placed on the wall in a carefully planned way, reminiscent of a flowing movement.

Josh Sperling Spectrum 5 Photo caption: Josh Sperling at Perrotin (Hong Kong) "Spectrum", 2021. Image courtesy of the artist and Perrotin.

Regarding the design of the staircase shape, Sperling once said: “illusion is also very important to me: the underlying structure gives the illusion of something, it is mysterious... When the squiggles are skinnier they have one central layer, in the middle they have two and when they are very large they have three. That is a result of wanting to give the work an organic life-like feel, like the rings of a tree that grows with layers.”

While acknowledging that the stepped levels of the squiggles he created were inspired by the concentric lines in Stella's early innovative monochromatic paintings, Sperling's works are quite different from his predecessors. By using "squiggles" (wavy and curly lines) to get rid of the physical limitations of painting (regardless of its shape) and attaching it directly to the wall, Sperling is able to transform the entire gallery space into a fully immersive experience. The tiered shapes of his creations add another element into the audience's visual experience; as the audience moves around the room, the interaction between the work and the surrounding light also changes.

Sperling never stops creating. In his first Hong Kong exhibition, he installed a large immersive "squiggle" work using physical lines - and he did this on the entirety of three walls in an exhibition hall. This "squiggle" installation's main difference from what was previously done in Shanghai (2020) and Paris (2019) is Sperling's use of the spectrum to guide him in making color choices. The colors of the work slowly fade from red to violet, then from orange to yellow, and as the viewer makes his way around the gallery, they eventually become green and blue. In another exhibition hall, tondos made of "double bubbles" and circles are hung on all walls, with different sizes, all painted with abstract expressionist techniques.

Sperling's work should be viewed in a broad artistic and cultural context. On one hand, these "squiggles" can be regarded as abstract expressionism and painters, such as the evolution of Franz Kline's paintings. However, his wavering forms are easily reminiscent of pop artists such as Keith Haring. In these two latest series, Sperling combined the optical rigor of Josef Albers's "Homage to the Square" series with the fun and enjoyability of his own linear and circular shapes.

Sperling was born in Oneonta, New York in 1984. He drew inspiration from abstract expressionism, mid-twentieth century abstraction (minimalism, color gamut painting and conceptual art), Memphis Group (Memphis Group) design and MTV logo and other elements, reimagined the painting, and ultimately has come up with his own unique art style.

Source of the above information: official press release

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