November 1, 2019 – December 28, 2019
I had a great time at Phil Wagner’s Artshow “Obsolescence” here are some of the photos I took. The show is open till December 28th a must see at the new NO Gallery on La Brea. Photos by Robert Schmolze
Press Release
What is that? A holy site or a trash-pit nightmare? And where is that noise coming from? Inside my head or vibrating from the walls? Phil Wagner’s latest installation at NO attracts with dazzling, disorienting form and ensnares with its physical sensations—while invoking some of art’s biggest ideas. With Marcel Duchamp hovering as a reference point, a found object, and a dose of humor, Wagner’s works tack between the earthly and the transcendent, the heavy and the light. Large-scale canvases and totemic forms in close proximity carry forward the legacies of Suprematism and Minimalism. They also carve paths through the double binds of these historical ideals: How does a material thing provide spirituality for a secular world? How is art revolutionary when all the revolutions have failed? All together, the ambitious installation generates formal and philosophical propositions that transcend the associative content of its component parts. These notions, Wagner suggests, are essential but may appear today as obsolete as the broken radios and printers pressed into the service of his artworks and that threaten to bury us alive.
Wagner’s exhibition marks NO’s first presentation by a single artist. Wagner’s work appeared previously in the gallery’s inaugural exhibition “NINE.”
Phil Wagner
(b. 1974) received a BFA from Illinois State University and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Notable solo exhibitions: Untitled Gallery ( New York, NY), Nicodim Gallery ( Los Angeles, CA ), The Arts Club ( London, UK ), Rental Gallery ( New York, NY ). Notable Group exhibitions: Black Standard w/ Devina Semo, Phil Wagner, Capital Gallery ( San Francisco, CA), Farewell Rodney, curated by Rashid Johnson, Sommer Gallery, ( Tel Aviv, Israel ), American Exuberance, Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation, ( Miami, FL ), Jessica Dickinson, Oscar Murillo, Cammie Staros, Phil Wagner, Mihai Nicodim Gallery, ( Los Angeles, CA ). Wagner’s work is included in the collections of Susan and Michael Hort (New York, NY) and the Rubell Family (Miami, FL), among others. Wagner lives and works in Los Angeles.
Founded in June of 2019 by Casey Gleghorn, NO is a new exhibition space committed to presenting thoughtful exhibitions highlighting new and emerging visual artists. NO currently operates in a two story space in Mid-City Los Angeles located next to David Kordansky Gallery, Kayne Griffin Corcoran and LTD Los Angeles.
Media Contact: Casey Gleghorn
NO – 1115 S La Brea Ave LA CA 90019
P. 323-209-5557
Gallery Hours
Wed thru Sat 12 -6pm or by appointment.
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