PRESS RELEASE
Color & Form; solo exhibition by NAGESH SHARMA
Aicon Gallery, Palo Alto
December 12 – February 7
Opening reception, Friday December 12, 2008, 6-9 p.m.
PALO ALTO, Calif., October 17, 2008- Aicon Gallery, 535 Bryant Street, Palo Alto will present a solo exhibition of the works of Nagesh Sharma from December 12 through February 7, 2009. An opening reception will be held on Friday, December 12 from 6-9 p.m. This will be the artist's first solo exhibition with Aicon Gallery. The artist has previously shown in a group show with Aicon Gallery, entitled, "Middle Edge."
To some, Nagesh Sharma's artistic works present two-dimensional sketches. In the most rudimentary sense, his forms and markings are child-like, simplistic, even unchallenging. However it is only those viewers who search deeper into Sharma's complex and multi-faceted strokes that are rewarded with a sense of enigmatic composition and wonderfully rich color.
A background of undulating color, created within a narrow range of hues, is constructed using stroke upon stroke which is practically scraped off of the canvas, leaving an intesely crackled and rough-looking texture. However, one can see that this backdrop is completely smooth, giving the impression of being printed or mechanically produced. The swatches of color wash over one another and mingle like ink in water.
On top of this arresting background lay shapes that hover between the geometric and the organic. Their edges follow no particular rules and yet the forms are extremely well-defined. Lightly sketched outlines in black and white give structure to these objects, which contain the same hues found in their surrounding ground. Again, one can decidedly pick out "brush strokes" and "textures" even though the artwork is completely flat. In this capacity, Sharma achieves great depth without succumbing to the ease of piling layer upon layer of paint and forgetting what exists underneath.
Bringing each of these elements together, Sharma applies markings of lines and circles. These marks encompass the various shapes, providing a method for settling the otherwise anomalistic forms into their landscape of color. The result is an emotional and progressive body of work, both pleasing to the eye and the mind.
For further information and images please contact Anuradha Vikram at 650.321.4900 or anuradha@aicongallery.com