Hard-edge Paintings & Michael Dunbar Sculptures

Findlay Galleries is pleased to present an exhibition of Michael Dunbar sculptures and hard-edge paintings on view from September 5 to October 3. Dunbar’s small-scale bronze and steel sculptures, which reference clocks, compasses, and sextants, share an interest in mathematical relationships with hard-edge painters such as Ilya Bolotowsky, John Ferren, and Ward Jackson. 

Though backgrounds and philosophies may differ, craftsmanship, clean lines, geometry, and scale are the primary concerns of all artists in the exhibition. Ferren’s work from the 1960s reveal an interest in the concept of dynamic symmetry. This concern led him to explore the mathematical construction of space as it relates to squares and rectangles and concepts such as the catenary, a parabolic curve evidenced in works such as Royal Choice, 1969. 

Ward Jackson, by contrast, was inspired to move away from gestural painting by the work of Piet Mondrian and Josef Albers. Volume II, c. 1973 evinces the austere, hard-edge style Jackson began in the early 1960s and developed into his signature style. Like Jackson, Ilya Bolotowsky also looked hard at Mondrian’s neo-plastic paintings, initiating a purification of form and color evident in works such as Rhomb, Pale Yellow, Blue and White, 1976. In such works, the composition’s right angles and primary colors have no association with the natural world, exorcising all suggestions of illusionistic space and emphasizing the overall flat tension of the painting. 

Findlay Galleries invites you to explore the relationships and connections among this select group of artists at our New York Location.