Thought that is planned is tradition.
Thought that is unplanned is imagination.
Thought that is both is spirit.
- Old Sufi proverb
Martos Gallery is pleased to present Planet without a body, a solo exhibition by Jess Fuller, open from January 10 through February 14 with an opening reception on January 10 from 6–8pm.
In this new series on view, Fuller’s dyed structural paintings have evolved into sinuous reliefs. The artist begins her process on the floor, working on multiple pieces at once, moving shapes around, letting time pass in a release for the imagination. Evocative of Matisse’s cutouts, Arp’s assemblages and Miro’s tapestries, these works unite color and texture to explore the limits of paint on canvas. Surfaces are washed, cut, glued, sewn, sprayed, and painted in a cyclical process that creates tension through the pairing of line and contour.
Casting her net wide, Fuller culls from a vast variety of sources that includes Harry Dean Stanton, Hopi Edlers’ Prophecy, David Smith’s Sprays and Colombian Mola textiles. The sensibilities of drawing, painting, sculpture and performance merge, as the works—anchored by dual compositions—provoke experimental, intuitive and surreptitious progressions. Unwieldy patterns shift from psychedelic washes to bold saturations of color in a systematic chaos. There is an apparent casual intuition in these works, a leap of faith that Fuller takes to allow for these forms to naively dance across the surface. The artist’s vulnerability is further revealed as surreal and boundless figures begin to manifest within each vibrant composition.
This is Fuller’s second solo exhibition at Martos Gallery. Her work has been featured in various group shows including those at Southfirst, Brooklyn; Halsey McKay, East Hampton; Canada, New York and The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn. She will be included in the upcoming group show at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise in New York in January 2015. Fuller was born in Portland, Maine and received her MFA from the University of Iowa in Iowa City. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
