Kwame Brathwaite, Holly Coulis, Tomory Dodge, Kristy Luck, Aaron Morse, Sophie Treppendahl, Muzae Sesay
The Armory Show
September 7-10, 2023
Booth #344
For the 2023 edition of The Armory Show, Philip Martin Gallery is pleased to present new works by Kwame Brathwaite, Holly Coulis, Tomory Dodge, Kristy Luck, Aaron Morse, Sophie Treppendahl and Muzae Sesay. In their respective practices, these seven artists of different generations and backgrounds consider modern life as it is both represented and experienced. They ask questions about what pictures do, how we read them, and the ways in which we can better understand our society and ourselves.
Philip Martin Gallery's group booth will feature never-before-seen photographs works by Kwame BRATHWAITE (1938-2023, New York, NY), one of the first people to promote "Black is Beautiful." A legendary photographer, Kwame Brathwaite's work is currently on view in the exhibition, "Africa Fashion," at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. In spring 2023, Brathwaite work was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago; a concurrent touring eight-venue solo museum tour; and a major monograph, published by Aperture.
Holly COULIS (b. 1968, Toronto, ON) makes paintings and works on paper that investigate painterly space, often by way of color and gesture. The creation of pictorial experience is at the heart of Coulis's work. Holly Coulis builds abstraction by way of both her observations of everyday objects and the movement of her brush itself. In 2023, Coulis's work was on view at the Blanton Museum of Art (Austin, TX), which recently acquired her work, and in 2022, "North by Northeast: Contemporary Canadian Painting” at Kasmin Gallery (New York, NY).
Tomory DODGE (b. 1974, Denver, CO) has become known for dynamic paintings that explore representation and the mechanics of picture-making. Dodge writes, "I have often talked about paintings being inherently contradictory things. They are objects that are spaces, walls that are windows. They are the intersection of object and image. Painting maintains a physical anchor at a time when the image generally is becoming more and more ethereal — everywhere and nowhere at the same time.” Tomory Dodge's work was recently acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Dodge's work will be the subject of a solo presentation at Philip Martin Gallery in October 2023.
The paintings of Kristy LUCK (b. 1985, Woodstock, IL) are windows into psychological spaces in which forms emerge from fluid gestures and rich colors. Building upon sketches, her surreal landscapes evoke a subconscious understanding of space and objects. Kristy Luck's works have a shifting atmospheric spatial sense, due in part perhaps to her meticulous yet open painterly practice. In June 2023, Kristy Luck had a solo exhibition Philip Martin Gallery; in 2022, Luck had a solo exhibition at Mendes Wood DM (São Paulo, Brazil). Kristy Luck's July 2021 exhibition at Philip Martin Gallery was selected as an Artforum Critic’s Pick. Her work has been featured in Art in America, Los Angeles Times and other publications.
The large-scale watercolors and paintings of Aaron MORSE (b. 1974, Tucson, AZ) engage with human and environmental concerns, often with a view toward our greater narratives about ourselves and the world in which we live. Morse's paintings and works-on-paper invite us to consider myth, nature and culture through dynamic compositions that combine their elements in colorful and complex layers. "My goal is not to dominate the viewer or demand that they feel or see the view I'm presenting a certain way," Morse writes. "The art is living with ambiguity and contradictory assessments. I always try to make paintings that are rich but open - that might have a life of their own without me - images that can support multiple interpretations, mirror our own unique respective experiences and consider history and its aspects.” In spring 2024, Aaron Morse’s work will be the subject of a solo exhibition at Philip Martin Gallery (Los Angeles, CA). In the fall of 2023, Morse’s work will be featured in "If the Sky Were Orange: Art in the Time of Climate Change,” a major exhibition at the Blanton Museum of Art (Austin, TX).
Sophie Treppendahl (b. 1991, Baton Rouge, LA) makes paintings that vividly depict simple moments sourced from the artist’s own life experiences, photographs and drawings. Treppendahl’s lush use of color, buttery paint strokes and the ever-changing use of light, depict a familiar feeling of timelessness. Treppendahl’s use of color makes a recognizable moment feel warm and inviting. The never ending feeling of summer freedom, the sun’s warm embrace on bare skin, these feelings of nostalgia, of a life well lived, are apparent. In January 2023, Sophie Treppendahl had a solo exhibition at Philip Martin Gallery, which will also feature her work at Art Basel Miami Beach (Miami, FL).
Muzae SESAY (b. 1989, Long Beach, CA) makes paintings that examine the world with an eye towards not only art history and artistic practice, but also the power of place and identity. Long interested in both sociology and architecture, Sesay's works take on the urban landscape, in particular. Sesay makes nuanced compositions that address the visual and emotional resonances of how we live together. In October 2023, Muzae Sesay's work will be featured in "Bay Area Now 9" (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA). In November 2023, Sesay's work will be featured in an exhibition at Philip Martin Gallery. Sesay's works are currently on view at de Young Museum (San Francisco, CA) and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco, CA).
Philip Martin Gallery is open Wednesday - Saturday from 10-5. For additional images, or information please email info@philipmartingallery.com, or call (323)-507-2037. Philip Martin Gallery is located at 3342 Verdugo Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90065.
