Rewriting History: How Artist Samuel Stabler Finds Meaning from the Old Masters
When
Samuel
Stabler gave The
Ghent Altarpiecea
modern makeover, he chose to finish the work,
part of his ongoing “Old Masters” series, with stripes of neon yellow over a
minimal, gray palette. “I use neon
because it’s contemporary,” he told Interview Magazine.
“It’s a pigment that was made in the 20th century.” Through this simple
addition of color, in addition to his spare, unique aesthetic Stabler launches
the Dutch masterpiece into the present. With an avid interest in the internet
age and how historical works are digested by contemporary audiences, Stabler distills
historic artworks to vital compositional lines, a grayscale palette, and
stripes of the electric color, reinvigorating them was a sense of
contemporaneity. At New York’s Garis & Hahn this fall, Stabler presents
four new works created in this vein, in “Untitled (Politics).”
While
he sources his material from the internet, Stabler is inspired by his passion
for art history, and years worth of sketchbooks filled with countless copies of
masterworks. In this new series, he homes in on American history, particularly
American politics to consider storied moments like the signing of the
Declaration of Independence. The works featured in the exhibition employ his
characteristic palette, in addition to his affinity for stripes, featuring familiar figures like George Washington, among
other forefathers, gathered in courtrooms, witnessing moments of
history—compositions that are not among the most revered icons of art history.
Overlaying bold stripes and unexpected color onto these works, he beckons a
completely different reading from that of the original work, calling the viewer
to recognize the original scene while encountering the present. The
exhibition is Stabler’s meditation on the state of the world within the digital
age, where today, one news item is quickly drowned out by the next big
headline. By reviving the old and the familiar, Stabler has asked viewers to
look beyond the internet browser and appreciate history anew, just as he has.
—Melissa Smith
“Untitled
(Politics)” is on view at Garis & Hahn Gallery,
New York, Sept. 5th–Oct. 4th, 2014.
