Naomie Kremer: Force Fields

New York Gallery

California and Paris-based artist Naomie Kremer writes that her process allows her to ‘visualize and materialize’ at the same time. In this exhibition of new work, her paintings evoke representation, but remain stubbornly abstract. The viewer experiences simultaneous sensory occurrences in the manner of experiencing the natural world, yet the hand and mind of the painter is in evidence, reminding the viewer that perception is always partly a function of nurture.

Unusual for her artistic practice, in this body of work Kremer approached each canvas without any specific source imagery in an effort to reveal the innate and sometimes contradictory tangle of elements – education, information, environment, and personality – that shape her work. Sweeping gestures are jostled by intricate marks creating pattern and detail that evoke recognition on a biological level. Kremer’s nuanced colors thematically unify the variety of rhythms and movement within each painting, while setting the tone for their perception. Kremer herself is evident in the robust physicality of the paintings, but the meaning of her gestures remains open-ended, inviting interpretation and interaction on both physiological and psychological levels.

On Thursday evening, 9 October, at 7pm Hosfelt Gallery will screen Naomie Kremer’s video animation backdrop for Bela Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle.” Commissioned by the Berkeley Opera and performed to great acclaim in May 2008, this one-hour video brings together layered and animated imagery in a way that is deeply integrated with her past work, while pointing toward explorations she will pursue in work to come.

Concurrent with this exhibition, Kremer will exhibit Quote Unquote: Text Animations and Hybrid Paintings from September 18 through November 1 at Knoedler & Company’s Project Space, at 19 East 70th Street.