Johannes Vanderbeek Zach Feuer Gallery

Johannes Vanderbeek

The Zach Feuer Galley opens this season with a show of new works from sculptor Johannes VanDerbeek. There are cast wall works made of clay and resin with subtle warm and cool neutrals painted on top.The wall works have the texture and primal impact of cave drawings.

Also along the walls are simple gestural drawings made from steel wire twisted into human forms. They have the freedom and fluidity of Mattise’s late figurative expressions. while the wire armatures lean against the wall, scattered around the galleries are stand up sculptures that reiterate a very primal and textural use of clay and color. It is a very integrated installation blurring the boundaries of two dimensional ‘paintings’ and three dimensional sculpture.

All the works suggests human and animal forms rendered with a non western style found in primal African masks. Following the birth of his daughter, VanDerBeek became interested in how his baby daughter may visually experience her exploration of the world. He parallels her innocent perceptions with the neo-primative arts created at the dawn of our human empires. To quote the gallery press release “These objects require looking, and provoke questions about how physicality can emulate shifting mental states.” I may add they are all stunningly beautiful.

Words: Lizanne Merrill © Artlyst 2014

Johannes Vanderbeek ‘Early Hand’ – until 4 October 

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