Douglas Witmer
Monday, November 17, 2008
installation views : today is the day
Here are some installation views of my current exhibition, "Today is the Day." All work is 2008, black gesso and acrylic on canvas. The smaller works are 40 x 33 inches, the larger works are in the 4 x 5 foot range.
L-R: Silver Rider, New Drifter, Indian Summer, Kentucky Coffee
New Drifter, Indian Summer, Kentucky Coffee
Indian Summer, Kentucky Coffee, How Soon Is Now?
New Drifter, Indian Summer, Kentucky Coffee, How Soon Is Now?
Every Thought About You Takes A Rest, They Turn Me
They Turn Me, a peek into the next gallery with work by Alexis Kuhr, Silver Rider, New Drifter
They Turn Me, work by Alexis Kuhr, Silver Rider
Silver Rider, New Drifter
Once again here are the vitals on the show:
Today is the Day | New Paintings
Through December 7
44-02 23rd Street, Long Island City, NYC
Labels: exhibitions, my work
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Tuesday, November 04, 2008
minus space on video
There are now several videos on YouTube documenting the MINUS SPACE show at PS1.From James Kalm, "The Kalm Report"
From Minus Space, Part 1
From Minus Space, Part 2
In the opening frame of this video you can barely see my piece. It hangs at the other end of the room, high up on the right near the corner. See that blurry patch of yellow? That's it.
From Minus Space, Part 3
Labels: exhibitions, Minus Space, video
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Sunday, November 02, 2008
reminder and sneak peek
Here's a studio view sneak peek at two new paintings, as yet untitled.
My new exhibition is coming right up.
Today is the Day | New Paintings
M55 Art, Long Island City, NYC
November 13 - December 7, 2008
Reception: Saturday, November 15, 6-8pm
M55 Art
44-02 23rd Street
Long Island City, NYC
Gallery Hours: Thurs-Sun 12-6pm
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And don't forget, I'm also included in the exhibition MINUS SPACE, an international survey of contemporary reductive art
at P.S.1/MoMA
That exhibition runs through January 19, 2008.
P.S.1 is located just a short walk around the corner from M55 Art in the
Long Island City Arts District.
P.S.1/MoMA
22-25 Jackson Ave at the intersection of 46th Ave
Long Island City, NYC
SEE BOTH exhibitions on Saturday November 15. Start at P.S.1 in the late afternoon (open until 6pm). Then come over to the opening reception at M55 Art from 6-8pm. I hope to see you there!
Click here for a map.
Labels: exhibitions, studio views and work in progress
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Friday, October 24, 2008
ps1 installation view
The reception for MINUS SPACE at PS1 was jam packed on Sunday. The exhibition is installed in the cafe and boiler room spaces. They're unconventional spots, to say the least. Here's a cameraphone view of my piece looming above the throng (and, therefore, in view and out of harm's way.) On the ceiling is a tape piece by Daniel Göttin.
MINUS SPACE plans to post installation views. More on this soon, I hope.
Labels: exhibitions, Minus Space
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Sunday, October 12, 2008
news : today is the day
Here's the card image for my upcoming exhibition
Today is the Day | New Paintings
M55 Art, Long Island City, NYC
November 13 - December 7, 2008
Reception: Saturday, November 15, 6-8pm
M55 Art
44-02 23rd Street
Long Island City, NYC
Gallery Hours: Thurs-Sun 12-6pm
....................................................
And don't forget, I'm also included in the exhibition
MINUS SPACE, an international survey of contemporary reductive art
at P.S.1/MoMA
That exhibition opens this Sunday, October 19, and runs through January 19, 2008
P.S.1 is located just a short walk around the corner from M55 Art in the
Long Island City Arts District.
P.S.1/MoMA
22-25 Jackson Ave at the intersection of 46th Ave
Long Island City, NYC
SEE BOTH exhibitions on Saturday November 15. Start at P.S.1 in the late afternoon (open until 6pm). Then come over to the opening reception at M55 Art from 6-8pm. I hope to see you there!
Click here for a map.
Labels: exhibitions, news
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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
announcement and sneak peek
Here's an e-card with basic info about all my upcoming shows into 2009. Below is a sneak peak at my new work.
On the left: Cloud Cover (VIII), 2008, 20 x 16 inches. This piece will be exhibited in the PS1 show.
On the right: Indian Summer, 2008, 40 x 33 inches. This piece will be included in my solo exhibition at M55 Art.
Labels: exhibitions, paintings
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Sunday, September 14, 2008
news : reload at m55 art
Labels: exhibitions
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Monday, August 11, 2008
news : two nyc exhibitions this fall
MINUS SPACE
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center / MoMA
Long Island City, NY
October 19, 2008 — January 19, 2009
Curated by Phong Bui, artist, Brooklyn Rail publisher, and P.S.1. Curatorial Advisor, the exhibition will feature 54 artists from 14 countries. The exhibition will mark MINUS SPACE's 5th anniversary.
Participating artists include:
Soledad Arias, Shinsuke Aso, Marcus Bering, Hartmut Böhm, Richard Bottwin, Sharon Brant, Michael Brennan, Henry Brown, Vicente Butron, Bibi Calderaro, Melanie Crader, Mark Dagley, Julian Dashper, Christopher Dean, Matthew Deleget, Lynne Eastaway, Gabriele Evertz, Daniel Feingold, Kevin Finklea, Linda Francis, Zipora Fried, Daniel Göttin, Julio Grinblatt, Billy Gruner, Terry Haggerty, Lynne Harlow, Gilbert Hsiao, Andrew Huston, Simon Ingram, Kyle Jenkins, Mick Johnson, Steve Karlik, Sarah Keighery, Danny Lacy, Andrew Leslie, Daniel Levine, Sylvan Lionni, Lotte Lyon, Gerhard Mantz, Rossana Martinez, Juan Matos Capote, Douglas Melini, Manfred Mohr, Salvatore Panatteri, Dirk Rathke, Karen Schifano, Analia Segal, Edward Shalala, Tilman, Li-Trincere, Jan van der Ploeg, Don Voisine, Douglas Witmer & Michael Zahn
M55 Art, Long Island City
Just around the corner from P.S.1, I will have a solo show that will run concurrently. Here are the preliminary details. If you're not already on my e-mail list, sign up and I'll send you a proper invite closer to the time.
Today is the Day
New paintings by Douglas Witmer
November 13--December 7, 2008
Reception, Saturday November 15, 6-8pm
M55 Art
44-02 23rd Street
Long Island City, NYC
Click here for a map
Labels: exhibitions, Minus Space, news
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Thursday, May 29, 2008
news : group exhibition M55Art new york
Several of my "Black Keys" paintings including the one above are part of the inaugural exhibition of a new artist-run gallery in Long Island City, just a few blocks from PS1. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend this opening. However, stay tuned, I have a solo exhibition at this venue coming up...TBA.
Opening Group Exhibition
M55 Art
Long Island City
44-02 23rd Street
May 31 - June 29, 2008
Opening: Saturday, May 31, 6 - 8PM
Click here for info and a map to the gallery.
Participating Artists:
Christine Baeumler
Tom Evans
Rand Hardy
Yosuke Ito
Alexis Kuhr
M P Landis
Stephen March
Annette Morris
Richard Pitts
Ed Rath
Judy Russell
Michael Sanzone
Randee Silv
Robert Schecter
Tyrome Tripoli
Jeff Way
Douglas Witmer
Labels: exhibitions, news
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Wednesday, March 05, 2008
"considerable" at university of dayton
...just got these installation photos from Jeffrey Cortland Jones. As you can see my work has been given a sculptural treatment. Here's the link to my post with the announcement for the show.
Labels: exhibitions, my work
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Friday, February 15, 2008
"considerable" at university of dayton
I'm in this group exhibition coming up. I'm happy to be in the company of some artists whose work I follow and admire (Kim Krause, Tim McFarlane, and John Tallman to name a few).
Labels: exhibitions
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Monday, December 10, 2007
BEAT, by lynne harlow at minus space
Over the weekend I had the privilege to be a participant in Lynne Harlow's performance/painting/installation BEAT at Minus Space in Brooklyn.
The all white drum kit was the nicest I've ever played. Having not performed on the drums in a few years (and always as the drummer in a band), I felt rusty and nervous. Plus, before I started playing I didn't think to take the time to adjust the kit to my body the way my personal kit is. Describing this to someone later, they said "you felt like you were trying to drive a car but your feet couldn't reach the pedals." Exactly. Nevertheless it was very fun. And it was terrific to see all the different kinds of approaches people take to a fixed set of instruments and the broad sonic variation that was produced.
Afterwards I remembered a dream I had when I was in high school: sitting behind a drum set in a painting studio drumming and looking at large paintings on the wall.
(cue the sappy string music)
Wow, I guess dreams really DO come true!
Labels: exhibitions, Minus Space, miscellany, music
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Sunday, August 05, 2007
escape from new york opens in sydney
Escape from New York opened on Friday at Sydney Non Objective in Sydney, Australia. The exhibition was organized by Minus Space, stateside here in Brooklyn, and continues through September 2.
Each artist is represented by a work, plus an open letter intended for the audience in Sydney. I'm showing a piece on unstretched linen pictured below. You can read more about it here.
I ended up submitting two things for my letter. One is the facsimile of my notebook, the other is a print out of an image made on Google Maps (click images to enlarge). All the work is catalogued on-line. It's fun to see and hear all the various artists' perspectives. Check it out.
Labels: exhibitions
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Friday, August 03, 2007
gallery siano exhibition reviewed
Cloud Cover paintings, 2007. Black gesso and acrylic on canvas. Installation view at University of Maryland. (They are in a "salon-style" configuration currently at Gallery Siano...no photo unfortunately.)
Today's Philadelphia Inquirer includes a review of "Summary, 2007," the current group show at Gallery Siano that features my work, and mentions my work specifically. I'm represented by four "Cloud Cover" paintings that I debuted at the University of Maryland earlier this spring. The show has been extended until August 18, by the way. The full review is below.
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Summery summary
by Edith Newhall
At some point in the near future, I'm sure Gallery Siano will begin to hew to a particular aesthetic, as it has already taken tentative steps toward doing. For the time being, though, there is its summer show, "Survey," a bright, good-natured three-ring circus that wants to be appreciated by everyone.
There's plenty to like in this show of mostly paintings. Of the painters working in various modes of abstraction - and who number 18 among the show's 27 artists - Jon Manteau is a scene-stealer with his "Template" of housepaint applied every which way to a large rectangle of plywood. Robert Goodman is no wallflower either, slashing circular strokes of vivid colors around an ovoid of yellow. On the gentler side, Donna Usher's paintings of floating, candy-colored, bubble-like shapes stem from images envisioned while meditating.
Siano also seems to have a predilection for hard-edged geometric work, the most interesting examples of which include Douglas Witmer's modestly scaled paintings of floating bars of color on grayish fields, and Alex Paik's partly obscured alphabet letters on matte pastel backgrounds.
Among the more representational paintings that stand out are Miriam Singer's composition of streets and houses in a loose grid that can be read as an aerial view, a filmic series of views, or diaristic notations of travel through a city, and Rebecca Saylor Sack's winsome gestural, semi-abstracted landscape.
Gallery Siano, 309 Arch St., 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. 215-629-2940 or www.gallerysiano.com. EXHIBITION EXTENDED THROUGH AUGUST 18.
Labels: critical reviews, exhibitions
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Monday, July 02, 2007
news : summer group show philadelphia
Gallery Siano, Philadelphia
July 6--August 11, 2007
Reception Friday July 6, 5-8pm
Gallery Siano
309 Arch Street
Philadelphia PA 19106
CONSIDER YOURSELF INVITED!
Labels: exhibitions, news
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news : group show in australia
Untitled, 2006. Gesso and acrylic on unstretched linen, 13.5 x 11 inches (34 x 28 cm)
This piece is soon en route to Sydney, Australia as part of the group exhibition Escape from New York at Sydney Non-Objective. The exhibition is organized by Minus Space, and opens August 3. Each of the artists in the show will be represented by a recent work, and also by an open "letter" to the audience in Sydney. I believe Minus Space will catalogue the entire project on line soon. I'll post the that which made up my "letter" after the show is actually open.
Meanwhile, this unstretched linen piece is the only one that survives from a group I started in 2006 during my residency at St. Mary's College of Maryland. It's kind of a seed idea. I think about it a lot. See the group in progress here, here, and here. Why this one works for me and the others do not...well, that's the question that I've been mulling over for nearly a year and a half now!
Labels: exhibitions, my work, news, paintings, studio views and work in progress
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
i walk the line opens at umd
[click image to enlarge each]
I Walk the Line opened at the University of Maryland on Thursday evening. I was so pleased with the way the exhibition looked. Mary Early exhibited four recent wood and beeswax sculptures, Linn Meyers showed two drawings on mylar and made a huge new drawing on the gallery wall, and I was represented with two large works from late '06, and four brand new small paintings.
Coming up is a podcast interview with myself and the other two artists Linn Meyers and Mary Early, produced by Li Koo from UMd. Stay tuned for information on that.
I hope to write more about this exhibition soon. But in the meantime I'd like to thank a few people: Jeff Rhodes and Brian Sykes at the University of Maryland kept all the details in order, handled and installed my work expertly, and made everything feel like a breeze to me, though I'm sure there were some real chores on their end. Li Koo was curious, enthusiastic, and a delight to talk with for the podcast interview. Jonathan Walz curated the exhibition, brought the three artists together, and conceptualized the show beautifully. Thanks all of you.
Labels: exhibitions
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Friday, February 16, 2007
i walk the line
[click image to enlarge]
My good friend Jonathan Walz, doing his PhD in art history at University of Maryland, put this exhibition together. It's in the Student Union gallery there. I'm excited, 'cause it's real good company. Consider yourselves invited. There will likely be some additional programming around the show in the form of a panel discussion or podcast...not sure on that yet. Stay tuned!
[UPDATE Feb 21]Here is the official press release for the exhibition:
COLLEGE PARK, MD – The Union Gallery at the University of Maryland presents I Walk the Line: Three Abstract Artists in the 21st-Century, an exhibition of works by Mary Early, Linn Meyers, and Douglas Witmer. The exhibition, curated by Jonathan F. Walz, runs from March 1 – April 12, 1007. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held on Thursday, March 1, 2007, 5-7 p.m.
I Walk the Line presents a trio of young contemporary artists who have deliberately chosen to reinvigorate and extend the practice of abstraction through their work. Referring to the song by Johnny Cash that inspired this exhibition’s eponymous thematics and title, Walz states that “Early, Meyers, and Witmer ‘walk the line’ in their commitment to abstraction, notwithstanding the possibility of critical adversity or indifference to their work.”
For this exhibition Meyers will create a large wall drawing for the gallery space, Early will present intricate beeswax-covered sculptures, and Witmer will exhibit expressive geometric paintings, each providing viewers with an opportunity to examine their processes of creating twenty-first century abstraction. Early’s works are presented courtesy of the artist and HEMPHILL Fine Art and Meyers’ courtesy of G Fine Art.
The Union Gallery is located on the first floor of the Stamp Student Union on the campus of the University of Maryland. All events are free and open to the public. Hours are 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Friday; and 11:00 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, the public may call (301) 314-8493 or visit the Union Gallery’s website at www.union.umd.edu/gallery. The Union Gallery is supported in part by the Prince George’s Arts Council and Pepsi Enhancement Funds.
Labels: exhibitions
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Sunday, February 04, 2007
AltGeo
[click image to enlarge]
So here's what I've been up to...you know, in my spare time...
"AltGeo" brings together eleven nationally-recognized artists, and includes a new one-of-a-kind wall drawing done on site by Washington-based artist Linn Meyers.
Chris Ashley (Oakland), James Erikson (Phila), P. Timothy Gierschick II (Phila), Rodney Harder (NYC), Jerome Hershey (Lancaster PA), Jeffrey Cortland Jones (Cincinnati), Tim McFarlane (Phila), Linn Meyers (Washington DC), Vincent Romaniello (Phila), Anne Seidman (Phila), Paige Williams (Cincinnati)
February 5 - March 31, 2007
Reception Friday March 9, 6-9pm
Green Line | Powelton
3649 Lancaster Avenue Philadelphia
215-222-3431
www.greenlinecafe.com/altgeo.html
(stay tuned for photos of the show)
Labels: exhibitions
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Tuesday, January 16, 2007
across the borderline update
Chris Ashley and I opened our collaborative exhibition this past Thursday.
Click here for a report and link to a web gallery of the installation and opening reception.
Labels: collaborations, exhibitions
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Wednesday, January 10, 2007
parting words from richmond
I'm off to the University of Dayton. Meanwhile, my exhibition at Red Door Gallery in Richmond, Virginia closes this coming Saturday. Brick Weekly published this thorough review of the show, by Vittorio Colaizzi, today. Since Brick is not online, I've excerpted below. You can read the full review here on my site.
Decoration haunts abstraction, pacifying its disruptive potential so that it may be assimilated into “the arts.” The best paintings are embodied visual thinking, and we think them every bit as much as we see them. Decoration, on the other hand, is not thought but recitation, the expert assemblage of various tropes for a handsome effect. This dialectic has nothing to do with style or technique, and cannot be simplified as “rough” vs. “slick.” Nor is this distinction intended to denigrate all pattern-based abstraction, which can sometimes be a corrective to stagnant conventions. Decoration occurs when a viewer is told what he or she wants to hear, and abstraction occurs when comfort is refused. The distinction is rarely clear, and viewers will always disagree on what constitutes mere repetition and what constitutes adventurous dwelling in the unfamiliar. Douglas Witmer incorporates the very opposition of decoration vs. thought, or recitation vs. discovery, into his paintings, and makes it a part of our experience.
Read the complete review...
Labels: critical reviews, exhibitions
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Friday, January 05, 2007
across the borderline
[Update 05 January...Here's the official evite for Across the Borderline (designed by yours truly).]
Collaborative drawings by Chris Ashley and Douglas Witmer, mixed media on paper, 2006.
Chris Ashley and I have been collaborating for the last several months on a variety of drawing. I say a "variety of drawing" because it that feels more accurate than talking about the products, or the "drawings," even though that's what we're ultimately producing. We're scheduled to exhibit our collaborative work at the University of Dayton in January (see details below).
Were documenting the process here, at: www.acrosstheborderline.com
[Update: I should mention we're posting new images to this site frequently as we head into the exhibition.]
We're doing simple back-and-forth exchanges of work. We're working on a variety of non-precious surfaces...cheap papers particularly. We're doing different things with size, and format. We're both experimenting a lot, allowing ourselves to go outside the "boundaries" we have each set for our individual work. For me, the working mindset is close to child-like. That said, it's not easy. Opening yourself and your processes up like this can bring out exciting possibilities, but it also has a way of revealing your basic visual assumptions to yourself. This can represent a real challenge.
The gallery at the University of Dayton is on the small side, essentially a U shape, but with shorter walls on each end and a long wall in the middle. At this point we're envisioning exhibiting a selection of our individual works on each end with the larger wall being hung in a free-form way, likely a hundred or more pieces, to be determined collaboratively on-site.
Labels: collaborations, drawing, exhibitions, my work
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