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Hosfelt Gallery

December 13 - February 1, 2009

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260 Utah Street San Francisco, CA 94103
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Titration + Reflections on Painting John Andrews, 08-5, 08-10, and 08-3, 2008
13 December – 31 January Reception: Saturday 13 December, 4-6 pm EMIL LUKAS Titration Emil Lukas’ work is driven by the visceral energy of studio practice and the vitality of the cluttered working and living environment. His new works explore the concept of “titration,” a chemical term referring to the process in which small, incremental chemical alterations are applied to a solution, until they eventually tip the scales, and a visible change occurs. In one set of works, Lukas has stretched and criss-crossed colored thread across cast box-like forms, communicating both a subjective experience of color fields — the threads often appear to color the air around them, and the colors to advance or retreat — while at the same time referring to the tangible: looms and weaving, stringed musical instruments, and netting. These complex “cat’s cradle” works, both paintings and sculpture, accumulate the thinnest of color lines to create a final result, which may range from the faintest suggestion of tinted air to the dense threat of a spider’s web. In another series of “larvae” paintings, Lukas has mobilized the motions of household fly larvae, intervening at this stage of their life cycle to coax directional lines of motion across wet black or white paint. This creates subtle mazes of frail lines and masses of shaped traceries. These suggestive organic forms are partially willed by the artist, partly the result of the tiny insects’ decisions and physical efforts. JOHN ANDREWS Reflections on Painting John Andrews has always created art within the prescribed limits of the grid. He has previously worked with black wax surfaces modified by rows of penetrating dots filled with pigment, and, more recently, aluminum panels coated with layers of encaustic glazes. His new work continues his trajectory, from opacity to transparency, from black and white to color, from predetermined process to improvisation. In this frankly beautiful and sensual work, Andrews continues to employ layers of color on aluminum panels, but has changed his medium from encaustic to alkyd. He incorporates small amounts of dried pigment into the medium, working with as many as 100 layers on a panel. These transparent “washes” allow the viewer to see through the paint, down to the original layer. Andrews has introduced sparse amounts of metallic and interference pigments to enliven the interaction of light within the paintings. He also tellingly incorporates personal and fleeting experiences of natural light in the decision-making process of painting. The result is a modulated color field both transparent and veiled, which changes slightly in different light or viewing angles. In often surprising combinations, mixtures of brilliant and subtle pigments refer to natural and unnatural colors. Though emphatically material and self-contained, these paintings evoke evanescent experience. Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco is located at 430 Clementina Street, between Howard and Folsom and 5th and 6th streets. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday 11 – 5:30. For more information, call 415.495.5454 or visit www.hosfeltgallery.com.
Titration + Reflections on Painting Emil Lukas - Blur, Pouch, Grey Spot, 2008