Modern West is pleased to present Variant, a group exhibition highlighting the work of Al Denyer, Paul Reynolds, and Jorge Rojas. The exhibition will be on display from May 21 to July 10, 2021, and the artist reception will be held on May 21 from 6 to 8 pm. All are invited to attend.
Time and growth are a dependent pair. This exhibition exemplifies their mutual reliance as the three selected artists explore new boundaries in their personal artistic credos. Variations in the displayed pieces and in each artist’s practice invite the viewer to note the aching movement of time in regards to stylistic development. The exhibition is a moment of pause to note time’s influence on creative focus.
Al Denyer’s work is a patient optical illusion of organic textures. Inspired by topographic mountain ranges, the wrinkle of skin, or the geography of a leaf, Denyer imitates the impeccable linework of nature. This uncanny resemblance is an immediate revelation on first encounter with the work. The viewer experiences the push and pull as the understanding wavers between a macro or micro subject. In this particular body of work, Denyer’s focus is on negative space. Immediately absorbing one’s attention is the lack of line work, pattern, and information. In her newest works, she explores vibrant color in combination with her muted topographies.
Paul Reynolds' pure abstractions hold simple, lyrical gestures over subtle and undulating tonalities. Each work done in oil and graphite on birch allows the three mediums, paint, pencil, and wood grain, to play their role. Reynolds' expands from these meditative works pushing his practice to include more of the wood grain. The new works direct the viewer’s focus to the center, reminiscent of Josef Albers. He discusses this new direction, “I’m still working on raw birch with oil glazes, not quite obscuring some of the grain. There is a hard-edged centerpiece in these new pieces, a solid block that starts to look transparent as I rub out indistinct images with a rag in a quick, do-it-or-die challenge.”
Jorge Rojas is a multidisciplinary artist now based in Salt Lake City after years of living in Mexico and New York. His practice includes performance, painting, video, sculpture, and community engagement. Rojas’ work in this exhibition uses uncommon materials to emphasize color and texture. Exploring sandpaper, wax, and record sleeves, each piece is a sensory experience, teasing our tactile nature. The exhibition highlights the work I Wanna Be Your Lover, 2021 where the undulating discoloration of the collected and found sleeves create tones reminiscent of skin. These sleeves show the process of searching, collecting, and finding, as none of them could be manufactured. Their tonalities were created by the time and nature of their surroundings.