True Grit

Baahng Gallery is pleased to present True Grit, a group exhibition of six American artists: R.C. Baker, Ron Gorchov, Michael McClard, Yooah Park, Shelter Serra, and Lawrence Weiner. The exhibition is on view from April 11, 2017 through May 31, 2017. The artists, R.C. Baker and Shelter Serra, will be available to discuss their work at a soft reception, which will be held at the gallery from 3-5pm on Saturday, April 29, 2017 – coinciding with the event date of Madison Avenue Gallery Walk.

As evidenced by the current and ever-shifting geo-political landscape, what is considered the establishment today can be adjusted tomorrow, and the status quo, quickly reversed. The only thing certain about a norm is its changeability, a universal law from which the trends in the art world is not exempt. True Grit, a feast for the eyes, showcases 15 paintings and 6 sculptures by artists, born in different decades, and using distinct art practices. Their point of commonality is a demonstrated refusal to compromise their artistic visions, in spite of the mainstream and its ever-changing face. The exhibition is an exploration into the introspective processes of uncut individuals, who create, and have always created, on their own terms, and a celebration of their resultant, dynamic and wondrous works.

On view include Gorchov’s Sam is an emblem of the artist’s creation of a new pictorial field. On canvas pulled over saddle-like stretchers, the painting is lyrical yet in-your-face. McClard’s Shooter, Got Shot¸ lusciously painted fresco depicting modern issues, pulsating with raw, tactile energy; a bizarre delight. Weiner’s Put Aside or Put Away, a Hong Kong standard life preserver with language as a sculptural medium. Park’s Holarchy Cloud, a performative sculpture: ink on rice paper calligraphy metamorphosed into laser cut steel, disembodied and dancing mid-air; graceful in presence, ready to injure. Baker’s After Krivov, Rockefellers and Warhol, gouache on mug shots, referential to Stalin-doctored photographs of apparatchiks fallen out of favor, Rockefeller’s blackout on Warhol; when the establishment and art come to a head. Serra’s Morton Salt Girl, household and idyllic on the surface; a seeming nod to the comfort in the familiar that deceptively inquires into the common wisdom of the American Dream.