One half of Moskowitz Bayse’s gallery is dedicated to “Impossible Apprentice,” a sublime inaugural solo presentation by Matthew Gallagher composed of intensely delicate and labored drawings made by fusing drafting film onto a molten wax surface. From a seemingly humble distance, these postcard to post-it sized drawings are exalted facsimiles of portraits, objects, flowers and bodies produced by a diverse range of artists between the Renaissance to the 1970s. Through Gallagher’s own technique and exertion, his translation and study brings these objects into the realm of sacrament as well as being in their own right original too. Sustaining luminous depth and tonal range in graphite and wax, Gallagher spends at times hundreds of hours meticulously crafting a drawing, reminding viewers of both an unadorned vulnerability captured in mark-making and drawing’s historical role as a genesis for an artist’s scholarly transformation. Despite the title of the show implying an apprenticeship, the paradox lies in the fact that the drawings do not feel like they are driven by a mastery of the original artist or original work.  Instead, into and out of his very own proficiency, the exhibition as a whole reflects how special Gallagher’s enhanced comprehension of the world is. As light traverses the page, we witness optical blends, and Gallagher, in turn, shows us what light is meant to do. 

Moskowitz Bayse
743 N. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA

On view through February 10, 2024