Roland Flexner

Whitney Museum of American Art — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:03:50 -0400

Exhibitions/2010Biennial/RolandFlexner

Roland Flexner expands the definition of drawing by creating intricately detailed works of ink on paper using only his breath, chance, and gravity as tools. The works on view in 2010 were created using a Japanese decorative art technique in which paper is laid on top of ink floating on water or gelatin, creating a marbled effect. However, Flexner departs from the traditional technique, altering the composition in the moment before the ink is absorbed by tilting, blowing, or blotting the paper. The resulting images oscillate between illusionistic landscape and pure abstraction.

The drawings relate to Flexner’s interest in the seventeenth-century European practice of collecting geological samples (often polished cross-sections of stone) that resemble images such as those found in landscape painting. These collections were inspired by similar traditions in Asian cultures in which contemplating stones was meant to inspire meditation on nature’s transformations. In turn, the landscapes that seem to emerge out of abstraction in Flexner’s drawings reveal our own tendency to project pictures or interpretations onto ambiguous images.

Roland Flexner

Whitney Museum of American Art — Tue, 11 May 2010 09:46:06 -0400

Exhibitions/2010Biennial/RolandFlexner/Wiki

http://rolandflexner.com

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Roland Flexner

Roland Flexner