archiTECTONICS
Saturday, February 11, 2012, 6pm -10pm
Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts
Wynwood Arts District
2043 N Miami Avenue
Miami, FL 33127
www.dlfinearts.com

Architecture And Art Vie For Relevance In New Paintings By Julie Davidow

Diana Lowenstein Gallery is pleased to present “archiTECTONICS” a solo exhibition of new work by Miami artist, Julie Davidow. The work will be on view from February 11 – April 8, 2012, with an artist talk led by curator Claire Breukel on Sat. February 18 at 2pm.

For this exhibition, Davidow has created a series of paintings with a focus on the relationship between the architecture of contemporary art museums and the artwork that is enshrined within these structures. The term architectonics refers to characteristics of architecture, design and construction; and relates to the scientific systematization of the totality of knowledge.

“Davidow surveys the formal qualities associated with how we interact with, and consume, contemporary art highlighting parts of our experience that we would ordinarily take for granted and overlook, “ says curator Claire Breukel, “Her work is minimal, yet precise and deeply obsessive.” The paintings seek to establish order through the mapping of multiple visual cues, while commenting on the struggle between the natural and built environments.”

“My work has always involved an organizational grid. This grid has evolved to become “samples” of other artists’ works,” says Davidow. “More recently I have been interested in the architecture of the museums themselves, and am now sampling elements of these buildings. The structure which holds the art becomes the scaffold of the painting itself.”

“I use “sampling” in a way similar to musicians,” continues Davidow. “From an image I use of a building, or another artist’s work, I reduce that image to the essential elements that references its physical structure or composition. This creates the rhythm, beat, or geometry of the building or artwork.”

Some of the architecture that Davidow samples in her paintings includes the Denver Art Museum by Donald Liebskind, the Milwaukee Art Museum by Santiago Calatrava, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art – Bloch Building by Steven Holl, the Fort Worth Museum of Art by Tadao Ando, and the De Young Museum by Herzog & de Meuron.

Julie Davidow studied at New World School of the Arts in Miami. She has exhibited in The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC; Mass MOCA in North Adams, Mass; the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, NC, and numerous galleries nationwide.

Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Miami Art Museum and the Girl’s Club Collection in Ft. Lauderdale and numerous private collections. Davidow is coauthor of MIAMI Contemporary Artists, Schiffer Publishing 2007.

An opening reception with the artist will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2012 from 6 10 pm, with an Artist talk moderated by curator Claire Breukel on Saturday, February 18th, 2pm. A catalog with essay by curator Claire Breukel will be available.