Xavier Hufkens is presenting a unique joint exhibition of work between the late American artist Ken Price and rising abstract painter Lesley Vance. On view at the gallery’s Van Eyck location in Brussels, Fired and painted entwines distinct generations and practices that are united upon their artistic sensibilities.
Globally recognized for his eccentric sculptures, Price is best known for creating bulbous objects that appear as if landing out of a sci-fi film. Instead of using glaze to finish his works, the Los Angeles-born artist would opt to use acrylic paint, applying up to 70 layers per piece, until he would sand the work down to create a blotched effect.
“Color has been an integral part of most of the work I’ve made, but there’s not much to say about it,” noted Price in a past statement. “Color is complete in itself. It doesn’t need any support from art, representation, language, or anything else. It’s hard to control… Color conveys emotion, but you can’t really control that either.”
Vance on the other hand is known for painting expressive compositions that subtly hark to the traditions of still life, but whose contorted shapes mirror the grooves of Price’s sculptures. The two artists also carry certain synchronicities in the way they use reduction as a means to creation, as well as the static, yet dynamic element that pervades their respective practices.
“I like the idea that the forms in my paintings might unwind, but you can’t trace the steps back,” Vance described her work in a past interview. “I want it to be a singular boom. It is an object that exists, and you don’t question it, but the longer you look at it, you find yourself trying to.”
Fired and painted will be on view in Brussels until February 3, 2024.
Xavier Hufkens
Rue Van Eyck
441000 Bruxelles, Belgium
