Diane Rosenstein Gallery presents Phosphors, a solo exhibition of paintings and drawings by Marty Schnapf. This new series of emotionally complex tableaus explores the fluid interplay between the physical and psychological dimensions of human connection, isolation, and independence. These works often feature intimate pairings of intertwined figures embracing one another amid quasi-naturalistic landscapes that recede along the horizon.
The sixteen paintings in this exhibition will be shown in conversation with four drawings from “Loves and Lovers”– Schnapf’s ongoing series of charcoal works on paper. The drawings distill the artist’s expansive compositions to a primal play of shadow and light; they employ vigorous and expressive gestures to radiate the latent power within the body. Marty Schnapf works in a variety of visual and time-based disciplines, but in recent years has focused on his “foundation” in painting and drawing. He believes, “there is no better avenue by which to approach the inconstant emotional and psychological space experienced in dream, desire, memory, and premonition.”
The title of the exhibition – Phosphors – speaks to the luminescent quality of these paintings and the abiding energy emerging from their figures. ‘When I began this series, I thought I would call it ‘Last Days of the Simulation.’ I was thinking about the fragility of our constructed reality and of our assumptions about what we can expect. Particularly, as we spend more and more hours “logged on,” it is easy to picture a time when the distinction between real and virtual space no longer exists…I imagined people whose consciousness remains stable, while their bodies and the world around them dissolve. The more I painted, the more I saw in their dissolution, not an apocalyptic conjecture, but an everyday experience. They hold on. They let go. They fall apart. They keep themselves together. They are still. They remember. They flicker with enfolded energy. They manifest a subtle light. Phosphors is Marty Schnapf’s second solo exhibition with the Diane Rosenstein Gallery.
Marty Schnapf (USA, b. 1977) is a Los Angeles-based multimedia artist who works in painting, drawing, sculpture, installation and performance. He received his BFA from Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio (1999). In 2019, his figurative charcoal drawings were the subject of a solo exhibition, Loves and Lovers, at Diane Rosenstein Gallery. In addition, recent solo presentations of his paintings were held at Alice Black Gallery, London (2018) and Wilding Cran Gallery, Los Angeles (2018). Recently, his paintings were featured on Platform (2022), and included in shows such as Vivacité, Gallerie Italienne, Paris (2021); Dark Waters, WLCAC, Watts, CA (2021); Rites of Passage, Unit London, London (2021); All Tomorrow’s Parties (curated by Michael Slenske, domicile (n.), Los Angeles (2021); and Drive-By-Art (organized by Warren Neidich, Renee Petropoulos, Michael Slenske and Anuradha Vikram), Los Angeles (2020).
