FRITZ CHESNUT
Field Recordings
September 13 - October 18
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 13, 5 - 8 pm
Fritz Chesnut’s paintings are fields of action. The LA-based artist builds his works from vibrating moiré patterns and grids that appear torn, aged, decayed. Far from flat, each line is a physical thread. An alchemist of process, Chesnut squeegees paint onto plastic, then cuts and transfers the dried skins onto canvas. The result is tensile, a surface hovering between image and structure, textile and digital screen.
The title “Field Recordings” nods to the documentation of ambient sound, as well as the act of recording a painted field. The bands and ripples suggest waveforms (Chesnut is an avid surfer). The fissures are glitches in the screen. While his work can recall the mechanical precision of Op Art, Chesnut’s patterns are faltering. In one work, undulating lines mimic a struggling analog broadcast; in another, stray threads reclaim painterliness.
Chesnut was born in Santa Fe and lives in Los Angeles. He has mounted solo exhibitions at AF Projects, There There, and CULT Aimee Friberg, among others. His work has been featured in group shows at White Columns, the Bronx Museum, and recently in “Painting All Together (Painting as Is IV)” at Michael Kohn Gallery. His work has been reviewed in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker.
La Loma
6516 N Figueroa St · Unit A
Los Angeles, CA 90042-2101
USA T: +1 626.272.8730
Hours during exhibitions: Thur 11-5pm, Fri 11-5pm, Sat 12-5 pm & by appt.