April 23-May 28, 2016
Opening reception: Saturday, April 23, 6-8PM
Koenig & Clinton is pleased to present Branded Light, Steven Baldi’s first solo exhibition at the gallery. Branded Light continues a body of work that explores brand and image through a pairing of photographs and paintings. The overall installation draws from methods of painting, photography, and architecture — three subjects that have been present in all of Baldi’s work to date.
Placed throughout the gallery, new black and white photographs depict various camera logotypes projected and distorted through light and shadow. Made entirely in camera, each print approximates collage by layering text and texture through prismatic effects. The resulting image is revealed as a construction influenced by an industrial authority — usually invisible — which is present from the beginning to end of the photographic production sequence. The visual language of the industry becomes the subject of the series as brands are inverted and subjected to the processes they enable.
Punctuating the installation is a series of green monochromatic paintings made of aluminum panel wrapped in book cloth and framed in aluminum. The artist generates the shape of each painting by scaling down the dimensions of each gallery wall. In his previous series, the opaque black paintings absorbed light in the fashion of a traditional camera; Baldi’s digitally analogous green paintings now create a distinct field of color that obstructs entry rather than absorbs it. The green monochrome is rendered as a blank space that awaits input. In this version of the green screen, the gallery architecture is the input that determines each painting’s shape.
In situ, the paintings capture their spatial context by creating a portrait of the place in which they are installed. In contrast to the highly branded imagery found in Baldi’s photographs, his paintings offer no imagistic referent, instead forming a void and allowing the physical attributes of the works to become their own material signifiers.
Steven Baldi (b. 1983, Huntington Beach, CA) holds a BFA from Parsons School of Design, New York. Currently, his photographic works are on view at The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, in the group exhibition Ordinary Pictures organized by Eric Crosby. His work has been the subject of recent solo- and two-person exhibitions at Thomas Duncan Gallery, Los Angeles; Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York; Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia; and White Columns, New York. He has participated in select group exhibitions at Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York; Raucci Santamaria, Naples, IT; Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York; Galerie Sfeir-Semler, Beirut, LB; Friedrich Petzel Gallery, New York; Simon Preston, New York; and Room East, New York. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
For further information please contact info@koenigandclinton.com or call (212) 334-9255.
Hours of operation are Tuesday-Saturday, 11AM-6PM and by appointment.
