Holton Rower: Viscous Resin Extruding From The Trunk

Exhibition Dates: January 11 – February 15, 2014
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 11 from 6–8 pm
Gallery Location: 432 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–5 pm
Contact Info: 504.522.1999; www.arthurrogergallery.com

The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present Viscous Resin Extruding From The Trunk, an exhibition of paintings by Holton Rower. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, located at 432 Julia Street, from January 11 – February 15, 2014. The gallery will host an opening reception on Saturday, January 11 from 6-8 pm.

Untitled (HROW 0046), 2008. Paint on plywood, 31 ¾ x 19 ¾ x ¾ inches.

This second exhibition with New York-based artist Holton Rower includes his remarkable “Pour Paintings” along with a unique body of work titled “Focus paintings.” Holton Rower, who has been referred to as a “chemist and sculptor of paint,” is renowned for the incredible color combinations he achieves which can be stunningly psychedelic and hypnotic.

Many works in Viscous Resin Extruding From The Trunk are reminiscent of those in his 2012 exhibition – large-scale dynamically asymmetric compositions composed of concentric waves of color. In addition, this exhibition includes smaller works featuring poured paint on squares of plywood. In these, the paint is controlled to produce a vibrantly ringed worm-like shape – one that feels both regulated and organic, winding itself in the center of the exposed plywood square.

Working with a deep understanding of the nature of paint as a physical substance, Rower has perfected a technique of cascading doctored paint onto plywood. He directs and collaborates with the force of nature leaving an element of the artistic process to the effects of gravity. The results he achieves are often dramatic and in the new “Focus” paintings even complex and mysterious. In this series he is able to create works seemingly out of focus – leaving the viewer strangely unsettled but enduringly fascinated.

Holton Rower was born in Greenwich Village in 1962, the grandson of artist Alexander Calder. He has exhibited in New York at The Pace Gallery, John McWhinnie and The Hole, as well as internationally including England, France, Spain, and Switzerland. He currently lives in Brooklyn Heights and has a studio in lower Manhattan.