NEW YEAR 2013 to Open at Margaret Thatcher Projects, Jan 17

Margaret Thatcher Projects will present NEW YEAR 2013, a selection of new works by many of the gallery artists, including Frank Badur, William Betts, Freddy Chandra, Kevin Finklea, Jus Juchtmans, Tad Mike, Maria Park, Robert Sagerman, Heidi Spector and William Steiger. They exhibition grew out of the need to "have eyes on" all the artists' works following the destruction of Hurricane Sandy and a desire to leave the storm behind, and bring together the artists and their works in the new year and with a view toward the future.

NEW YEAR 2013 will be on view from January 17 to February 9, 2013. Reception: Thursday, January 17, 6-8 pm.

Embodying the glimmer of possibilities in the new year, paintings by Kevin Finklea, Jus Juchtmans, and Freddy Chandra offer unique encounters based on times of the day and interactions with daylight. Light and shadow are equally important in the paintings of Robert Sagerman. In his works, Sagerman emphasizes the materiality of paint itself to explore paint's materiality. Spector's punchy color sits playfully on the wall alongside establishEd Gallery artists Frank Badur and William Steiger. The paintings of Badur and Steiger are especially notable for their subtle and graceful control over reductive, balanced compositions, and a commanding use of color.

Tad Mike and Maria Park explore an interest in the conceptual possibilities of representing nature -- and our place in it. Drawing inspiration from the mountains of Zakopane, Poland, Tad Mike Layers mark upon mark of walnut ink and swiss varnish, using stones gathered from Zakopane as his brushes, producing wonderous, crackled and patterned abstract compositions on linen. Maria Park constructs her images, both natural and artificial in feeling, by stenciling and layering distinct shapes and blended fields of color, creating a perceptual play between the crisp, flattened characteristics of screen graphics with the gestural and visceral effects of the painterly surface.

William Betts' Pool Paintings incorporate Bett's signature application of acrylic paint applied in a grid of small dots of pure color, using the artist's proprietary software computer program to lay down the color; the resulting compositions calling to mind the much earlier painting technique of the Neo-Impressionist Pointillists.

In exploring the possibilities, and the materials and processes available to them, the artists included in this exhibition push the limits of their 'contemporary' practices in while paying homage to the rigorous traditions of painting. The artists employ both classic and industrial materials and techniques, bridging and blurring the conceptual and compositional boundaries of painting.

Margaret Thatcher Projects is located at 539 West 23rd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. For further information, contact the gallery at: info@thatcherprojects.com, or 212.675.0222, or visit www.thatcherprojects.com.

Artwork: Jus Juchtmans, 20121116, 2012, Acrylic on canvas, 63 x 51 inches (160 x 130 cm)

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