Ouattara Watts

IN DIALOGUE

APRIL 14 – MAY 23

OPENING RECEPTION: APRIL 14 6-9PM

Curated by Peter Makebish

Donald Baechler, Ross Bleckner, Kadar Brock, Brendan Cass,

Sante D’Orazio, Matt Jones, John Newsom, Hermann Nitsch,

Bill Saylor, Kenny Scharf, Ouattara Watts, Dustin Yellin

In a powerful curatorial debut, Peter Makebish brings his exhibition titled ‘In Dialogue’ to Anonymous Gallery @ Collective Hardware, pairing 4 generations of painters whose studio practices share bold continuity and intrinsic similarities: Ross Bleckner with Matt Jones; Kenny Scharf with Kadar Brock; Donald Baechler with Bill Saylor; Ouattara Watts with Dustin Yellin; John Newsom with Brendan Cass; and Sante D’Orazio with Hermann Nitsch.

Through the use of materials, surface structure, thematic iconographies, varied aspects of movement, and narrative pictorial, synthetic qualities, the large-scale works echo the enhanced spiritual qualities related to the history of post-New York School painting. In this ambitious exhibition, the romantic notions of idealism are expressed through a multi-generational mix of artistic genres and mediums, painting, drawing, photography and film. The show draws inspiration from the world of music and DJ culture especially, where different genres of songs are mixed together to produce compelling new sounds and each track is transformed and “exhibited” in a new way. Similarly, “In Dialogue” connects works of art so that contrasts are highlighted but the composition of each piece is intensified, creating a conversation about the whole.

A full-color catalogue of the exhibition will be published with essays by Anthony Haden-Guest and Colin Huerter.

For more information please contact, [email protected]