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For Immediate Release

Color/Construct Exhibition Features John Zurier and

Thomas Vinson at Wade Wilson Art

Exhibition of minimalist paintings and wall sculptures on view Oct. 14 - Nov. 10

HOUSTON (September 28, 2007) - This fall Wade Wilson Art will present Color/Construct, an exhibition highlighting the lush hues of painter John Zurier and detailed geometric wall sculptures of Thomas Vinson.  Organized by gallery Director Wade Wilson, Color/Construct opens with a public reception for the artists Oct. 13, 6 - 9 p.m.  and will remain on view thru Nov. 10.

Zurier, an American monochrome painter with roots in abstract expressionism and minimalism will exhibit alongside minimal German artist Vinson who will present three dimensional wall pieces.

Following, a distemper painting on a linen canvas created by Zurier, greets gallery visitors with a field of jewel-like aqua blue.  The edges of the canvas are unfinished and the architecture of the stretchers, exposed sides and tacks emphasize the painter’s hand.  Water-based pigment absorbs into the surface of the work allowing it to breathe revealing the texture of the Russian-made linen carefully selected by the artist. 

This deliberate construction of paintings remains consistent in Zurier’s overall body of work, but his canvases are not predetermined creations.  Rather, for Zurier, the final product evolves from the experience of creation.  “All paint is put on in a very specific way; it’s about being in the moment of the painting,” he said. 

However, while Zurier’s canvases are often laboriously created over a period of time in the studio, he hopes the emotional response evoked in viewers is tied to a concrete moment.  “I want them to look like they happened effortlessly, all at one go,” said Zurier. 

In stark contrast, Vinson creates exact, industrial looking wall pieces.  The artist’s works at Wade Wilson Art are small and mid-scaled sculptural pieces precisely crafted from medium density fiberboard (MDF).  Some feature a bright white surface with cut lines drawing specific geometric forms across the faces of the wall pieces; others are covered with tar paper.  Vinson conveys simple geometry in the dark works through specific lines which he renders in soapstone. 

“For this exhibition, I intentionally decided to work with American proportions, trading inches for centimeters that I frequently use in Europe,” noted Vinson.  Additionally, the pieces in Color/Construct feature domestic materials - another departure from Vinson’s typical creations. 

Vinson’s wall pieces bring utilitarian materials beyond their roots to create reductive images reminiscent of minimal art masters such as Donald Judd and Robert Ryman.  However, while Vinson’s work balances geometry and gravity, his pieces are not fixed.  Rather, like Zurier, Vinson responds to each piece as it develops.  “It is important to me to evaluate the play of proportions in a work in terms of emotional response,” said the artist.   

As a whole, Color/Construct brings together two artists who provide a juxtapositional exhibition of works stemming from similar influences; both Zurier and Vinson site Ellsworth Kelly and Barnett Newman as inspirational figures, but travel divergent paths as they create unique monochromatic works. 

“Color/Construct shows the relationship between two-dimensional and three-dimensional work and use of light and color in a captivating and very exciting way,” said Wilson.  “While Zurier and Vinson provide two very different perspectives on these things, they share significant common ground including the imperative focus on materials and experimentation with actual versus perceived line.” 

Zurier was born 1956 in Santa Monica, California and lives and works in Berkeley. He teaches at the California College of the Arts, San Francisco.  Zurier has been featured in multiple solo and group exhibitions including the 2002 Whitney Biennial. 

Vinson began his formal art education in 1997 at Rice University where he studied sculpture with Professor George Smith.  The artist, who currently lives and works in Giessen, Germany and Paris, frequently exhibits not only his wall sculpture, but also large scale outdoor sculpture and installation work in Europe.  He recently exhibited for the first time at the Art Basel Fair in Basel, Switzerland. 

About Wade Wilson Art

Founded in March 2006, Wade Wilson Art brings a fresh voice to the Houston visual arts community by presenting artists who primarily have not been seen in Houston, but whose work reflects current movements in international art circles. The gallery, owned by Gregg Tyson and siblings Wade Wilson and Caroline Wilson Tyson, showcases painters and sculptors whose work explores use of light and color including Joseph Marioni, Jill Moser,Mark Williams, Tom Berg and Virgil Grotfeldt. 

Wade Wilson Art is located at 4411 Montrose Blvd, Ste. # 200, Houston, TX 77006. Wade Wilson Art is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. For more information about the gallery or the Color/Construct exhibit, please visit www.wadewilsonart.com

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