Lane Twitchell: Private Property

Solo exhibition

Artemis Greenberg Van Doren Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new cut-paper works by New York based artist Lane Twitchell, on view from January 9 – February 9, 2002. Titled Private Property, it is the artist’s third one-person exhibition in New York and his first with the gallery. His work was most recently featured in Good Business is the Best Art (2000) at the Bronx Museum; and Faith: The Impact of Judeo-Christian Religion on Art (2000) at the Aldrich Museum.

A multi-layered narrative unfolds from each of Twitchell’s labor intensive cut-paper ‘paintings’ (all works 2001). His unique fold-and-cut technique alludes to traditional handicrafts like quilt and lace-making as well as the childhood craft of paper snowflakes. Twitchell, who was born and raised in Salt Lake City, produces intricate images – tiny buildings, cars, art historical references, and landscape elements – that directly refer to the American cultural, physical, and historical landscape. In the piece titled Eureka! Stepping Through the Rearview Mirror, One Discovers the Golden State (Motovu #2), the artist comments on American car culture and how it embodies destructive force along with giddy pleasure. In its tapestry of specific details, one finds globes, a Poppy (the state flower of California), and Kudzu vines (a Japanese ivy commonplace in the South) along with symbols of cars and road signs. Eye Ninety refers to the 13 states (each 7” vertical band presents a state emblem) that highway I-90 cuts through from Boston to Seattle. And the work titled Godbold (The West Texas Rapture) is inspired by the artist’s pilgrimage to Marfa, TX, where Donald Judd’s Chinati Foundation is located as well as the Godbold Grainery.

The exhibition will feature ten pieces, including one of the artist’s largest to date – measuring 90 inches square. A full-color catalogue with reproductions and an artist Q & A will be published on the occasion of the show.