Concurrent

Concurrent: Natalie Alper, Tim McFarlane, Diane Simpson, Larry Webb

Curated by Robert Bridges, Nancy Einreinhofer, Paul Krainak, Dan Mills, Kristina Olson, Sam Yates. Project Directors: Dan Mills and Sam Yates

Organized by the Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University, and Ewing Gallery, University of Tennessee
 
“The adventurous state of mind is a high house. To enjoy life the adventurous state of mind must be grasped and maintained. The essential feature of adventure is that it is a going forward into unknown territory. The joy of adventure is unaccountable. This is the attractiveness of art work. It is adventurous, strenuous and joyful.”  -- Agnes Martin

With this “adventurous state of mind,” Dan Mills proposed an exhibition of a select few artists who had devoted their careers to abstraction and who had been making strong, consistent, and highly developed bodies of work for a number of years. It was also decided to include artists from different geographic locations whose work represented distinct individualistic, yet compatible, approaches to achieving that “joy of adventure” that abstraction can provide. The artists include a sculptor from Chicago, Diane Simpson; and three painters: Larry Webb, New York City; Tim McFarlane, Philadelphia; and Natalie Alper, Boston and New York City.

Upon contacting colleagues at other venues to invite their participation in the project, a novel curatorial approach was developed. A representative of four of the participating venues would arrange a studio visit with one of the artists and then write an essay and make the final selection of the works to be included in the exhibition. The curators also selected several drawings by each artist that provide insight into four distinct dialogues between primary media and works on paper.

Concurrent not only showcases the work of four different accomplished artists, but also, the insightful and thoughtful essays of four distinguished writers.

Sam Yates