Selected works by Marta Chilindron and Graciela Hasper

January 25 – April 26, 2017

The vocabulary of Marta Chilindron and Graciela Hasper suggests straight forward clarity, a clear responsiveness to light infused by movement and color. They speak well together, harmoniously sharing innuendoes, all the while prodding discrete perceptions.

Marta Chilindron’s constructions are each based on a simple form: a circle, a square, a hexagon, a cube, a pyramid. But, as in all things, what is not so apparent is that the illusion of simple depth in Chilindron’s work can be complex. The sharply cut and hinged shapes can be folded, elongated, stacked, to form a variety of configurations. With a simple adjustment, a vastly different form emerges and the mind’s eye finds a new, and quite different, articulated image. The transference of light and shadow allow the work to tumble and dance. Sometimes playful, sometime pushy, the constructions invite a new perspective. She says, “I am looking for the engine of life; what keeps everything together and functioning. I use movement because it implies instability and illustrates the continuous change of our uncertain realities.”

Graciela Hasper’s multicolored layered shapes appear to be a simple overlaying of color and form. Her lines are handmade, no tape or rulers are used, and to amplify the hardedge of design, she layers her colors and shapes with delicate precision, eliminating the trace of a brushstroke. Influenced by the history of abstraction, she draws from the Latin American modernists, referencing also Malevich, El Lizzitsky and Mondrian. Hasper moves her lines and layers her colors with apparent simplicity, all the while suggesting there is always more to what you think you see. She says, “I’m looking for your eye not to rest. The painting will not let you be quiet, will move your eye…I’m looking for the movement.”

Marta Chilindron was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1951, grew up in Montevideo, Uruguay, and has lived in New York since 1969. Graciela Hasper was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1966. Both artists have traveled and exhibited their works extensively, creating large scale site specific installations to small, intimate encounters. Chilindron has said, “We all have a different idea of what reality is…” The works of both artists take us beyond what we clearly believe is obvious.

Curated by Sally Reynolds

In cooperation with the artists and Sicardi Gallery, Houston

Photographs by Dawn Baxter