The Xippas Gallery is pleased to present the fifth solo show for Dan Walsh, a key figure in the New York art scene.
Following in the wake of Minimalism, Walsh’s artistic vocabulary centers on geometric abstraction. The starting point in each composition is a grid – this structural device enables the artist to organize the space within a painting and then transform it into a system of coordinates. On this plane, his patterns evolve following a precise system or algorithm. More or less visible, his applied protocol forms a rhythmic pattern in the composition, allowing the artist to explore infinite variations. Similar to these forms, the colors also gradually shift adhering to this same mathematical logic.
Moving between rigid systems and total freedom, this artistic process not only alludes to the numeric universe, but it also generates responsive and surprising artworks. Evolving like a mandala, the structure sometimes defies optics and creates an illusion of movement. The vibrating colors form a rhythm that renders the painting a space of tension, absorbing the spectator’s gaze. The position of the paintings furthers this experience: Walsh consciously places these artworks near the floor, so that the public “looks down on them – literally.” By transforming the painting into an object, the artist establishes a personal contact between the spectator and the artwork.
The six new works Walsh presents here form a coherent group. The canvases are made to function in pairs. With each diptych, the artist follows the same basic protocol. However, this algorithm develops differently in each canvas. This show acts as a confrontation between three binomials, each one embodying two variations on the same theme. The artist seems to suggest that in art, as in life, the same starting point can lead to an infinite number of destinations.
Dan Walsh was born in 1960 in Philadelphia. He works and lives in New York City. He studied at Philadelphia College of Art and Hunter College in New York City.
His work has been shown in numerous galleries and museums in Europe and the United States: Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA, MAMCO, Kunsthalle Bern, Kunstverein Museum, and Leverkusen, to name a few.
His artworks are part of many prestigious collections, including those at the MoMA, Jumex Collection (Mexico), Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University (USA), Fonds National d’Art Contemporain (France), and The Saatchi Gallery (United Kingdom).
In New York, he is represented by the Paula Cooper Gallery.
