BLINDSIGHT

Samuel Freeman is pleased to present "BLINDSIGHT," an exhibition of new works by Jenene Nagy, Emilie Halpern, and Molly Larkey. Connected through a shared focus in dimensionality and physical presence, these three artists play to a viewer’s experience of space, light and geometric form through the intersection of drawing, painting and sculpture. Mirroring the surrounding gallery environment as well as their own forms, the works both shadow and overshadow perspectival constructions. In moving beyond a determined visual space these pieces nod to a historical hierarchy of visual perspective, while also turning the notion on its head.

"BLINDSIGHT" is an exhibition that questions established notions of constructed visual awareness. Coined in 1974 by the psychologist Elizabeth Warrington, the term ‘blindsight’ was used to describe a phenomenon where cortically blind individuals are conscious of things they cannot see. These individuals could sense shapes and images, even mirror emotions, despite not seeing them at all. Perspective, therefore, becomes a psychological experience.

The works of Jenene Nagy, Emilie Halpern, and Molly Larkey disrupt traditional forms of perspective that derive from a geometrical ordering of sight. A protruding triangle doubles as a supporting intersection. A gilded oor captures a moment in time. Folded paper is attened, creating parallel shapes that nearly disappear within the shimmering texture of a million graphite marks. Multiplicity makes way for dimensionality when the at planes of a line or a mark transition towards a wider realm of awareness.

“To be lost is to be fully present, and to be fully present is to be capable of being in uncertainaty and mystery.” Rebecca Solnit states, “[...] one does not get lost but loses oneself, with the implication that it is a conscious choice, a chosen surrender, a psychic state achievable through geography.”1

Jenene Nagy (b. 1975, Bronx, NY.) is a visual artist living and working in the Inland Empire. She received her BFA from the University of Arizona in 1998 and her MFA from the University of Oregon in 2004. Nagy’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including the Portland Art Museum, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Torrance Art Museum, Takt Kunstprojektraum in Berlin, Germany, and Dam Stuhltrager in NY, among others. Her work has been recognized with grants and awards from the Foundation of Contemporary Art, the Oregon Arts Commission, Colorado Creative Industries, and the Ford Family Foundation.

Emilie Halpern (b. 1976, Paris, France) lives and works in Los Angeles. Halpern holds a BA from the University of California Los Angeles and MFA from Art Center College of Design. Her work has been exhibited widely including at Pepin Moore, Los Angeles; Western Bridge, Seattle; Art Palace, Houston; Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles; Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson; Horton Gallery, New York; Blum & Poe, Los Angeles; Galerie West, The Hague; and La Central, Bogota, among many others.

Molly Larkey (b. 1971, Los Angeles, CA) is an artist, writer, and activist based in Los Angeles, CA. She holds a BA from Columbia College and an MFA from Rutgers University. Her work has been featured
in exhibitions at PS1 MoMA, New York; The Saatchi Gallery, London; LACMA, Los Angeles; The Drawing Center, New York; Luis De Jesus Los Angeles; Ochi Gallery, Ketchum; Human Resources, Los Angeles; Commonwealth & Council, Los Angeles, among others.
All works by Molly Larkey are courtesy of Luis De Jesus, Los Angeles.

1. Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost. London: Penguin Books, 2006. P6