BE THERE
SaintsPresented by Wallspace April 27, 2006- May 27, 2006Helen Verhoeven
Verhoeven approaches the canvas through a process of planar deconstruction, achieving an anomalistic sense of space that could only be realized in two dimensions. Painted from her own 3-d dioramas, her imagined locations are built layer upon layer, with each new element further upending the logic of perspectival space. Combining the compositional "stacking" of medieval painting with forced perspective, spatial manipulation, scale discrepancies, deep space and flatness, Verhoeven’s paintings portray space itself as a surreal and invented concept. Despite nods to outsider art, bible school illustrations and medieval symbology, Verhoeven’s paintings are neither narrative nor realist — precise markings are spliced with spontaneous gesture and naive stylization, foregrounding the structure of the painting as a space of possibility, with narrative cues as free floating and suggestive as the spaces themselves. This will be Helen Verhoeven's second solo show with the gallery. She is the recipient of a Rijksakademie Residency Fellowship for 2005/2006; Recent and forthcoming exhibitions include The Essl Collection (Vienna); The Living Arts Museum (Reykjavik); Galerie Fons Welters (Amsterdam). Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Art Review, The New York Times Magazine, The Believer and Contemporary.
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