Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Control Group
by Michael Leaverton
In describing his work, Alex Zecca uses the phrases “precise formulaic structure,” “unique algorithm,” and “organic moiré forms.” He uses them in complete sentences, but more words would only confuse you further, and these are confusing enough. Zecca doesn’t lay out the specifics on what these words have to do, precisely, with his jaw dropping line paintings in the exhibit “New Work,” but it’s mathematical and scientific enough to scare us off of further inquiry. But his line paintings: jaw-dropping, for sure. Also psychedelic, transporting, and painstakingly obsessive, reminding us of patterns in nature, sheets of dream rain, a monk’s life work, peacocks, string theory, bead curtains and all the ’70s wonderment they enclose, and reams of computer data, output in colors. His exhibit runs in conjunction with work from Suzanne Frazier from her “Tidelog” series, whose paintings, while as graphically loose as Zecca’s are tight, are also grounded in organic forms.