Towards is pleased to present Lights, an exhibition of new work by Ted Gahl.
Drawing from both personal narratives as well as art history, the works within Lights expand on Gahl’s fundamental interest in the vocabulary of painting.
Nowhere is this interest more evident than in Candle (Water), the first piece the viewer encounters when entering the gallery. From a distance, the piece reads as a somber oil painting of a historical subject. Upon closer inspection however, there is an ambiguous texture to the surface that immediately renders this as something different. The “painting” was actually drawn in an iPhone app, one Gahl often uses in his studio downtime, and then printed on a commercial fleece blanket.
Moving towards the back of the space, the viewer is confronted with another image of a candle, this one quite literally is burning at both ends.
The candle pieces are contrasted with Day (Red), a large abstract work created specifically for this exhibition. Through a dense build up of gestural mark making, figures begin to emerge. Trudging in a line, these generic “suits” appear downtrodden and completely oblivious to the frenetic energy and chaos that surrounds them.
United by a deep interest in painting, and an irreverence for the creative process, the works within Lights build off one another, exploring questions of labor, process and the often solitary nature of creating art.
