i’ve been working
on an exhibition of jay defeo’s work for the last six months (actually, i started working on it in september of 2005 when i first visited the storage facility for jay defeo trust). but recently i’ve been absorbed selecting work for the show, writing a piece for a publication and designing the exhibition.
the show i’ve curated consists of 42 paintings, photographs and works on paper from 1971 to 1989 (the year she died of lung cancer). my goal is to show her tremendous range, her experimentation and inventiveness and her facility in radically different media — while at the same time showing the coherence of her vision.
from 1978, a work on paper in acrylic and chalk, 14×11 inches. and from 1972, an acrylic painting on masonite, 48×37 inches:
two gelatin silver prints from 1973:
a painting on paper mounted on canvas from 1986 (60×81 inches):
and a 5×4 inch gelatin silver print made in 1971:
what i’ve done is chosen a few formal threads and followed them through the work she made in the 1970s and 80s. her fascination with the circle/arc/spiral can be seen in the works above. but that only scratches the surface…
“DEFEO” will be on view at hosfelt gallery’s san francisco venue from the 10th of september to the 22nd of october. for a copy of the publication accompanying the exhibition, email info@hosfeltgallery.com.
this show offers a foretaste of the major retrospective show of jay defeo’s work organized by the whitney museum of american art which will also be exhibited at the san francisco museum of modern art.
for more posts about jay defeo’s work, click http://toddhosfelt.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/iv-been-looking-and-thinking/
none of the images in this post may be reproduced in any form without permission of the jay defeo trust. copyright 2010, the jay defeo trust/artists rights society/ars, new york.
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Todd, I came across a link somewhere about your galleries and have just passed about an hour looking around at what you’ve been doing. I remember you, of course, from the time you were employed at another gallery and I was, among other things, writing about art. Making the rounds of shows, I always looked forward to conversations with you–I knew/hoped that there would be a Todd Hosfelt Gallery. And look what you’ve done! Much applause…
What prompts my writing now is your description of how you curated the Defeo show in multiple media….so interesting to see how you work with spaces between pieces that call to each other formally across materials that do not allow the sort of trance-like mindless looking at slight variations within a “body” of work.
I look forward to seeing the new SF gallery!
Please add me to your contacts list: Mary Hull Webster, mhwdotcom@gmail.com, PO Box 1105, Woodacre, CA 94973.
Mary