Josh Sperling Takes Over Perrotin Paris
On view at the Rue de Turenne flagship until May 24.
Following a recent show in Brussels, Josh Sperling continues to tour across Europe in a new solo exhibition at Perrotin Paris. Housed at the gallery’s Rue de Turenne flagship, the American artist presents his latest wall-mounted sculptures, from pared back works that emphasize the raw canvas to colorful tie-dye iterations.
Head Over Heels carries with it all the winding puzzles that Sperling is known for, but with a refreshing twist that ushers in a new direction for the artist. Born and raised in a woodworking family, Sperling’s canvases follow a rigorous process, but he’s quick to mention that he does not want his work to be “about craft”, wrote Leanne Sacramone, Senior Curator, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain. Rather, Sperling uses modern tools to refine his creations, such as digitally carving out his stretchers, which he then hand-finishes with pindrop accuracy.
There are a number of pieces in the show that literally and figuratively pop-out at the viewer, however, on the gallery’s first floor, Sperling presents six more monochromatic works on raw cotton canvas. “The regularities and rhythms of these monochromes latch on to the flow of our sensory experience, like a tune that keeps running in our head and asked to be hummed,” added Sacramone.
Juxtaposed against the prior works, Sperling’s AbEx series operates in a different dimension. Made by squeezing acrylic paint on a wet canvas, the hybrid sculpture-paintings hark to techniques used by the Abstract Expressionists, which the artist compares to wine tasting — “you begin with the light bodied wines before moving onto full-bodied flavors.”
Also on view are new entries in Sperling’s Repeater Composites and Swoops series. Head Over Heels is set across two exhibition spaces at Perrotin and will be on view in Paris until May 24.
Elsewhere, Inès Longevial released a vibrant new print with Château la Coste.
Perrotin
76 Rue de Turenne
75003 Paris, France
