lumber room, Portland, OR
March 21 – April 26, 2014
Polly Apfelbaum’s latest body of work is currently on view through April 26th at the lumber room in Portland, Oregon. Color Stations Portland, a series of fourteen fabric paintings composing a room-sized installation, is part of a larger sequence of works made during the artist’s recent stay at the American Academy in Rome. These “ready-made” monochromes make reference to the Stations of the Cross and invite viewers to either question or embrace the contemplative approach of pure color abstraction as a way to the spiritual. With an emphasis on movement and order of thought, color and light, the sheer fabrics rest on the floor and are loosely attached to the wall at different heights according to their visual chromatic density. Ribbon strings hanging in front of them accentuate their dual relationship to the wall and the floor. Apfelbaum continues to occupy this place of the in-between, working in the space between painting and sculpture, narrative and abstraction, form and color, and control and chance. The installation responds to the specific conditions of the lumber room, a private space where artists are invited for residences and site-specific interventions to create open-ended and experimental work.
Polly Apfelbaum’s Color Stations Portland will be followed by Tony Feher. It is worthy to note that both artists visited the space together to exchange ideas and that their consecutive shows unfold as part of an ongoing conversation.
