Westbeth Gallery
55 Bethune Street, New York, NY 10014
Gallery hours: Wed – Sun, 1 – 6p
Future Proof opens on Wednesday, Feb. 5 (6-9pm)
on view through Feb. 23
Future Proof is a group show curated by Jared Linge for American Abstract Artists, featuring 17 of the group’s members.
Jeffrey Bishop, Jacob Cartwright, Joanne Freeman, Lynne Harlow, Carl E. Hazelwood, Pinkney Herbert, Jane Logemann, Stephen Maine, Russell Maltz, Tom McGlynn, Manfred Mohr, Lisa E. Nanni, Jim Osman, Sonita Singwi, Melissa Staiger, Jason Stopa, and Li Trincere
“Art has political consequences, which is to say, it reorganizes society and creates
constituencies of people around it.” – Dave Hickey
This exhibition examines the way that longevity in art can meaningfully shape communities and cultural landscapes over time. Here, “longevity” refers to the ability of art to endure, develop, and proliferate on its own terms, regardless of trends and circumstances. In an industry where social media and the art market reduce discourse to an endless succession of changing fashions, Future Proof positions communities of career-long practices as an alternative model. In this context, longevity is achieved both in open systems of making, and an intergenerational collaborative spirit.
These seventeen artists define abstraction in our present day by exploring a range of material, formal, and methodological approaches. Works have been selected with an eye towards range and contrast: from more coolly conceived formal viewpoints to the immediacy of space and raw materials. With a knowledge of abstraction’s history and the potential reinterpretation of its variables, these artists collectively champion the legacy of non-objective art as a vehicle for embodying critical thought.
image: Melissa Staiger, “Cut Cord”, 2024, acrylic on panel, 24 x 18 inches