(Cherry and Martin archive - Cherry and Martin is now Philip Martin Gallery.)
Cherry and Martin is pleased to present work by Katy Cowan and Ross Iannatti in a two-person exhibition at the 2732 space. The works on view reveal the artists’ shared approach to object-making. They complement rather than conceal the original intent of each material—woven industrial nylon, poplar, wax, ceramic, bronze, cotton—while they are simultaneously rooted in abstraction.
Katy Cowan is as equally interested in abstraction as she is in the ideas of labor and craft. She employs common building materials like concrete, plaster, marble and wood as well as craft materials and techniques such as textiles and ceramics. Often in Cowan’s work, ceramic and wax casts of objects like two-by-fours and hammers intersect with polished sections of marble or roughly poured concrete. In this particular exhibition, Cowan interacts with the nuanced details of the gallery space—works are found snuggly fit into specific corners and unfold onto staircases.
Ross Iannatti's recent body of work Hysterisis uses discarded materials collected from automobile impound lots, specifically the industrial nylon found in the interior of car steering wheels and passenger seats that is often covered in oil, dirt and other imprints from the material’s previous life. Iannatti dissects sections of the nylon, cutting squares and rectangles to create geometric patterns that he then sews together, not dissimilar from the process of quilting and patchwork. Informed by the grid, a concept in art making that has evolved over the past century through the work of artists like Kasmir Malevich, Agnes Martin and Sean Scully, the squared patterns of softly colored blues, yellows, pinks and grays are formally compelling while at the same time mask the undercurrent of instability and bodily references of the material itself.
Katy Cowan (b. 1982 in Lake Geneva, WI) received her BFA at the University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, WA) and recently earned an MFA at Otis College of Art and Design (Los Angeles, CA). Recent solo and two-person exhibitions include Elephant Art Space (Los Angeles, CA); Green Gallery (Milwaukee, WI); and LTD (Los Angeles, CA). Her work has also been included in group exhibitions at The Torrance Art Museum (Torrance, CA) and Los Angeles Nomadic Division (Los Angeles, CA). Cowan lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Ross Iannatti (b. 1988 in Chesapeake, VA) received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA) and is currently pursuing his MFA at the Milton-Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College (Annendale-on-Hudson, NY). Iannatti has most recently had a solo exhibition at Croy Nielsen (Berlin, DE), and his work has been included in group exhibitions at James Fuentes (New York, NY); Higher Pictures (New York, NY); REFERENCE Art Gallery (Richmond, VA); CUE Art Foundation (New York, NY); Open Space (Baltimore, MD); and Kate Werble Gallery (New York, NY). He lives and works in Rhinebeck, NY.
Philip Martin Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-6pm and by appointment. For further information and images please contact the gallery at +310-559-0100 or info@philipmartingallery.com.
Philip Martin Gallery
2712 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
+310-559-0100
info@philipmartingallery.com
