Bringing two, varied backgrounds and sensibilities, Oliver Vernon and Christian Calabro collaborate on visceral, abstract mixed-media pieces. A show at Kirk Gallery, running through March 1, offers examples of this partnership through a dynamic set of works. A statement says that “parallel interests in art history stemming from Kurt Schwitters and early Modernist movements, their creative kinship developed over years before the artistic collaborations began in 2010.”
“Their work plays with the intersection of intuitive gestural mark making and hard edged design elements while mixing a rigid abstract formalist approach with a reverence for the absurd,” it says. “Their process is spontaneous, seeking to capture a moment free of preconceptions. Tight craftsmanship is as much an ingredient as absolute looseness, giving the artists a freedom to push the boundaries of perceptual norms.”
See more from the show below.
Francesco Barocco's sculptures reconsider art history through conflicting modes, pairing elegant 2-dimensional forms with malformed sculptural material that would have once held the subject's likeness. The effect is both striking and eeries, as the ancient figures appear contemplative in some works, and in agony in others.
