The Language of Patterns: Jackie Ferrara, Alison Hall, Gloria Klein, Marilyn Lerner, and Andrea Way
Washington, D.C
Pazo Fine Art is pleased to announce The Language of Patterns, an exhibition featuring the works of Jackie Ferrara, Alison Hall, Gloria Klein, Marilyn Lerner, and Andrea Way. The exhibition will be on view in Washington D.C., at 1932 9th Street NW (Enter from 9 ½ Street) from January 25th, 2025 to March 15th, 2025. Join us for an opening reception on Saturday, January 25th, from 5 to 7 PM.
The Language of Patterns integrates a dynamic cohort of artists that collectively thematize the systematic process of pattern-making, their emerging structures vivified through the endless interchanges between each instated mark. Although seemingly attuned to the reductivist ideals of Minimalism, these works generate a distinct vivacity through their interplay of antithetical notions of order and chaos; the slightest indicators of human insertion surmount through the mechanical methodologies formulated by the artists.
Although constructed through the repetitive, additive undertakings of stacking each wooden block, sharpening each straight line, or sketching each computed grid, these works project a sense of infinitude through their unfolding of pattern, which lacks a definite beginning or conclusion. The interior makeup of these works are entirely concealed to the viewer, both physically and ideologically: the internal structure of Ferrara’s sculpture is only decipherable through the tracing of its external form, while the dense, geometrical abstractions of Way, Hall, and Klein obscure the organizational logic they inhabit. The spectating of this exhibit thus manifests as an immersion into the movement of pattern, as these geometric forms travel across the canvas to continuously orient and disorient the viewer, shifting between states of catalyzation, rupture, and disfigurement. Lerner, in her artistic evolution from sculpture to painting, conceptualized this visual phenomenon as akin to the act of dancing, in which the eyes gradually navigate the symphonic arrangement of geometric shapes to elucidate an idiosyncratic whole. Artistry emanates from the breadth of color expression possible under these rigidly geometric parameters, as Klein constructs coordinated color palettes through the assignment of a hue to each individual line in accordance with their angular degree. The mathematical systems and codes adopted in the preliminary stages of these works display stark similarities to the foundational material of the universe: Way visualizes her patterns as an extension of the “DNA strands of life,” externalizing the digitalized encodings that underscore human existence.
The title of the exhibit alludes to the one of the most famous books published on architecture, “A Pattern Language,” written by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, and Murray Silver. “A Pattern Language” is structured through a series of 253 design patterns that are recurring throughout history, deriving universal principles for how humans approach architectural solutions; in this exhibition, various applications of pattern all ultimately project a sense of motion, establishing a universal language for visual interpretation. The labor-intensive processes of these artists invoke new resonances in the realm of pattern-making while simultaneously being confined to the geometric logic omnipresent in the surrounding world.
Alison Hall (b. 1980, Martinsville, VA) received her BA in studio art from Hollins University in 2001 and her MFA in painting from American University in 2004. Hall has served as the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at TOTAH in New York, NY, Philip Slein Gallery in St. Louis, MO, Kate Werble Gallery in New York, NY, John Davis Gallery in Hudson, NY, William King Museum in Abingdon, VA, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, VA. She has also been showcased at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects in New York, NY, SOCO Gallery in Charlotte, NC, and the Schloss Derneburg Museum in Holle, Germany. Hall’s work has additionally been reviewed in The New York Times, Hyperallergic, and Steven Alexander Journal. She is the recipient of several awards and grants, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship in Drawing (2011) and a Bethesda Painting Award (2011). She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, and Martinsville, VA.
Gloria Klein (b. 1936, Brooklyn, NY; d. 2021) received her BA in economics from Brooklyn College in 1959 and her MA at Hunter College in 1973, dedicating periods of her life to studying at the Brooklyn Museum School of Art and the Arts Students League in New York. Klein has been showcased in numerous solo and group exhibitions at Hunter College in New York, NY, The Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, NY, The Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, CT, PS1 in Queens, NY, 112 Workshop in New York, NY, and A.I.R. in New York, NY. She is the recipient of several awards and grants, including a Women’s Year Award (1975-76), Studio Space at Vermont Studio School (1988), an Honorable Mention from the Turchin Center for Visual Arts (2005), an Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant (2005), and a Pollock/Krasner Foundation Grant (2007). Her works are in the private and permanent collections of various prestigious institutions, such as The Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas, Austin, TX; JPMorgan Chase, New York, NY; Citibank, New York, NY; and Chemical Bank, Detroit, MI.
Marilyn Lerner (b. 1942, Milwaukee, WI) received her BS from the University of Wisconsin in 1964 and her MFA at Pratt Institute in 1966. Lerner has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions at Kate Werble Gallery in New York, NY, CUE Art Foundation in New York, NY, Robert Morrison Gallery in New York, NY, and John Good Gallery in New York, NY. Her work has also been displayed in group shows at Van Doren Waxter in New York, NY, Dickinson Gallery in New York, NY, Simon Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, FL, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York, NY. Lerner is the recipient of several awards and grants, including a Fulbricht Scholarship (1991-1992), a National Endowment for the Arts award in Painting (1987), and a Drawing Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts (1990). Her works are in the private and permanent collections of various prestigious institutions, such as Whitney Museum of American Art, New York NY; The Office of Public Works for the State Art Collection, Trim, Ireland; and Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, NY. She currently lives and works in New York, NY.
Andrea Way (b. 1949, San Francisco, CA) received her BA from Indiana University, Bloomington in 1971. Lerner has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including Barbara Fiedler Gallery in Washington, D,C., Fendrick Gallery in Washington, D.C., Brody’s Gallery in Washington, D.C., Brian Gross Fine Art in San Francisco, CA, Marsha Mateyka Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the American University Museum in Washington, D.C. She has also been displayed in group shows at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., Hirshorne Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Triton Museum in Santa Clara, CA, The Drawing Center in New York, NY, and Arlington Arts Center in Arlington, VA. Her works are in the private and permanent collections of various prestigious institutions, such as The Philips Collection, Washington, D.C.; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; the Federal Reserve Board, Washington, D.C.; and the Washington Post, Washington, D.C. She currently lives and works in Washington, D.C.
Opening reception: Saturday, January 25th, 5 - 7 PM
PFA - Washington D.C
1932 9th Street NW, #C102, (Enter from 9 1/2 Street), Washington, D.C 20001
Thursday - Saturday, 11 AM - 6 PM