JOE FIG – CONTEMPLATION
2020-09-21The paintings in Contemplation present versions of the same scene: people looking at art. Some are in galleries, others in museums. Settings run the gamut from crowded blockbuster shows where the visitors take prominence, to quiet and intimate portraits of an individual completely absorbed in an artwork. Begun in 2016, the series illustrates numerous exhibitions from the past few years, and chronicles the artist’s travels across the country.
When we contemplate an artwork, we break it down to its elements, evaluate what we see, and form opinions. We consider what is being communicated. Contemplation is something artists constantly do. When making something, artists frequently pause to take a step back, look, and reflect. Far from passive, contemplation is a busy action. It’s as intrinsic to the creative process as the actual physical work of making an object. As Fig says, “It’s in this moment of seeming inactivity where the artist is working the hardest.”
Opposite – Opening: Donald Moffett, any fallow field, 2016-17
Exhibition runs through to October 17th, 2020
Cristin Tierney
219 Bowery, Floor 2
NY 10002
New York
