THICK&THIN - Robert Christie, Jonathan Forrest, William Perehudoff
Reception: Saturday, November 15, 2-4pm
November 15 - December 10, 2014
Art Placement is very pleased to present this exhibition of works by three abstract painters who have had strong and enduring relationships with the gallery: Robert Christie, Jonathan Forrest, and William Perehudoff (1918–2013). The title of this exhibition may be read in a number of ways. There is the obvious reference to paint as a material: the variation in application from thick impasto to thin wash. Paint - its colour, the nuances of surface, and the physical properties of the material itself - have always been primary concerns for all three artists...

The title also calls to mind the well-known idiom, through thick and thin, which speaks of commitment through good times and bad. The phrase certainly applies to the strong personal and professional relationships between the three artists, as well as to their commitment to their craft - the medium and practice of painting - which has endured throughout the decades even at times when abstract painting was not widely fashionable.

The popularity of abstract painting has often ebbed and flowed. At present, the tide is high. For Christie, Forrest, and Perehudoff, however, painting was never a question of fashion. As such, their steadfast commitment to the practice and medium has positioned them well within the current milieu as a happy coincidence rather than a calculated outcome. Their works are at once serious and playful; casual and at times seemingly off-handed but also laborious and painstakingly wrought; they evidence a strong sense of self-consciousness while simultaneously celebrating intuition and the operation of chance. For these reasons and more, their paintings are thoroughly contemporary and "on trend", though with a level of commitment and sophistication that will always elevate them well beyond mere fashion.

Installation Images: