BRIAN RANDOLPH
THE SEPTUM
SEP 12 - OCT 17, 2020
ODD ARK•LA is pleased to present The Septum, our second solo exhibition by artist Brian Randolph. The Exhibition will be on view from September 12th - October 17th, 2020. For The Septum, Randolph has produced a series of new dynamic colored-pencil works on paper that are mounted on wood panels.
Each composition begins with precisely gridded measurements and the meticulous rendering of patterned forms. Using wax-based colored pencil, Randolph builds up varying degrees of hued luminosity and opacity. The saturated surfaces and symmetrical compositions are the result of a rigorous process and a thoughtful reflection into the relationship between the body's biological processes of perception and the ontology of formal aesthetics.
In discussing the works in the exhibition, Randolph states,
"While I was working on my last show, I began drawing rows of ribboning lines on scrap paper to get the pen flowing. This led to more formally organized blocks of line, somewhat like blocks of text, accented by indentures and space between paragraphs. I was looking for a way to work in color, and I started to draw the line with negative space, filling all the space around it in colored pencil.
I chose to use a split composition for this show, like the two facing pages of an open book. I wanted to represent the connection between two people, and the sense of our ever-forking path, the choice we are presented with each moment. I tried to create an image that would reflect the feeling of all our senses being in stereo, and hold the attention in a balanced and consonant way.
The world comes to us through our double doors of perception, joined together along a vertical seam of symmetry, like the septum that divides the sinus cavity. Even the tongue has a septum dividing its two halves, our taste buds are arranged in pairs reflecting each other on its twinned surface. Our experience is a binary of hemispheres, always bonded and facing each other in a critical feedback relationship with one another, amounting to what we mostly experience as a unified whole."
Brian Randolph (b. 1979 Canton, Connecticut) received his BFA from the Maryland Institute, College of Art in 2001. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally with solo exhibitions at ODD ARK• LA in Los Angeles (CA), Gallery Four and School 33, both in Baltimore (MD). Selected group exhibitions include 'A Store Show' at ODD ARK •LA, 'Parallel Cities' at Ms. Barber's and 'Set the Table' at BBQ LA, both in Los Angeles, Tillou Fine Art, Spring Break Art Show in New York, LAVA Projects, Steve Turner Gallery, and Las Cienega Projects in Los Angeles, and Zic Zerp in Rotterdam. His work is included in the permanent collection of Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Brian Randolph lives and works in Los Angeles.
To view the exhibition, please schedule an appointment HERE.
READ THE REVIEW IN CARLA (Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles) HERE
KCRW Art Insider Top 3 Pics: The Septum by Brian Randolph at ODD ARK • LA
Photography by: Ruben Diaz