To see the world anew and unconstrained by the quotidian reality is the theme of “Back to Basics,” featuring a diverse international roster of contemporary artists from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation in Los Angeles. Many powerful images are born of basics: Josef Albers’ square, Anish Kapoor’s concave circles, Sol Lewitt’s precise stripes of color, Frank Stella’s iconic protractor series, Ellsworth Kelly’s saturated panels, and Donald Judd’s boxes of color and space. Other artists in the exhibition, such as Eric Freeman, Joe Lloyd, and Gary Stephan, use imprecise freehand strokes to create simple yet provocative explorations of form, color, and light. The exhibition is curated by Billie Milam Weisman
Back to Basics deals with the geometry of mind in the entropy of nature—such constructions as circles, spheres, squares, and lines—shown generally in primary or monochromatic color, evoke a sense of being within the psyche and transcendent of nature. Elemental shapes convey the immensity of man’s feelings and his limits in a vast and incomprehensible universe. Back to Basics is the simple evolution of universal artistic sensibility through the essential exploration of color, medium, and space.
The full artist roster for “Back to Basics” is: Jason Adkins, Josef Albers, Saradell Ard, Tim Bavington, Charles Biederman, Isaac Brest, Casper Brindle, Tom Burr, S. Byrne, Ronald Davis, Tim Ebner, Ned Evans, Paul Gadegaard, Betty Gold, Daniel Jackson, Donald Judd, Anish Kapoor, Ellsworth Kelly, Melissa Kretschmer, Sol Lewitt, Valdmir Llaguno, Joe Lloyd, Pard Morrison, Andy Moses, Kenneth Noland, John Pearson, Brian Porray, Kevin Reinhardt, Michael Rey, Dorothea Rockburne, David Ryan, Robert Schaberl, Arthur Silverman, Frank Stella, Gary Stephan, Jeremy Thomas and Victor Vasarely.
This exhibition, which runs through July 27, is made possible by the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation, and there will be an exhibition catalog.
Pictured: Anish Kapoor, Blood Mirror III, 2000, stainless steel & lacquer. © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS, London/ ARS, NY 2024.
