Edward Cella Art & Architecture is proud to present a new selection of sophisticated paintings and sculptures by Kendell Carter and Michael St. John for the Armory Show Focus section curated by Lauren Haynes, Curator of Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. In the works presented at the Armory Show, both Carter and St. John depict aspects of American culture by re-presenting personal experiences using both experimental and classical painting techniques.
In Carter’s works, the use of cast latex paint as a substitute for traditional canvas paintings as well as the use of spray paint suggest a subversion. These works inherit the subtle impressions of the ground they were poured on, as well as intricate, organic textures in the aerosol of Carter's iconic graffiti. Carter uses this to point out the continually negated role of artists of color, whose experimental process are historically left out of the canon.
In St. John’s identically scaled portrait paintings, he depicts people and objects, and ideas as representations of our current culture. Known for casting an inclusive and penetrating gaze on our nation, St. John’s rigorous formal practice draws inspiration from Rauschenberg, Warhol and early 20th century Ashcan School painters who portrayed scenes of daily life in New York. By combining photorealistic painting techniques with collaged newspaper clippings and found images, St. John portrays a captivating image of America at present.
