Chelsea, New York
Group Exhibition
Group Show
Nicole KlagsbrunAnna Betbeze George Ohr Nari Ward Nicole Klagsbrun is pleased to present works by Anna Betbeze (Mobile, Alabama, 1980), George Ohr (Biloxi, Mississippi, 1857-1918), and Nari Ward (St. Andrew, Jamaica, 1963). The three artists bring themes of process, materiality, and abstraction to the forefront. Ohr is best known for his manipulations of clay through folding, indenting, and ruffling. The exhibition features a work from his studio that was severely burned in 1894, one of his “burned babies.” After the fire, Ohr doubled down on his new approach to form by producing his renowned thin walled, crushed, folded, and dented vessels. Ohr’s practice serves as an important predecessor to later movements, including postminimalism. Resonating with Ohr’s material process is Betbeze’s wall-based Froth, 2013, a plush wool sheath with perforated and scorched areas. The work exemplifies the artist’s use of deconstructive techniques. Betbeze investigates conceptions of perception, merging sight and touch through an emphasis on material and method. By cutting, tearing, and burning wool, she creates a dynamic relationship between saturated forms and negative space. Her rugs drape, resting gently on the floor, conjuring associations with 1970s era Minimalist woven wall hangings offering an expanded take on abstract painting. Both Ward’s Anon; Three Boxes Two Tires, 1993, constructed of discarded fire hoses and tires, and Fourteen Burnt Bats with Ironed Cotton (2 Weeks), 1993, explore acts of memorialization through his sensitive approach to materials and form. Ward is well known for his sculptural works created from objects found in his longtime neighborhood, Harlem. By combining these materials, he re-contextualizes their original meanings, and in turn provides powerful symbols of community, history, and the passage of time.