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For
Immediate Release:
Strzelec's work combines a modernist vocabulary with unexpected materials and shapes. His forms set up expectations of straightforward solutions, which are then confounded with results that are sometimes humorous and sometimes deeply serious. The exhibition at Jay Grimm, Strzelec's second at the gallery, will be made up of small-scale sculpture and drawings, all executed in the last year. Strzelec's new sculpture consists of brightly colored cast rubber tubes draped over free-standing steel armatures. The limp, luminous material forms a web that creates a dynamic play between positive and negative space. Indeed, the idea of etching lines into space has been integral to Strzelec's work of the last five years. The sculptures are complemented by works on paper that further illustrate Strzelec's interest in the compression of space. While the artist has always used drawing to generate ideas about three-dimensional work, this marks one of the first times they have been exhibited. Many of these works show Strzelec moving seamlessly between drawing and sculpture and demonstrate his continuing exploration of the properties of rubber, where he has poured it into shiny, translucent pools which interact with twisted ink lines. Eleanor Heartney, in a review of Strzelec's last show at Jay Grimm wrote: Strzelec displays a decided refusal of elegance and (despite referential hints) an avoidance of metaphor. In some ways, these sculptures bring to mind the post-Minimal fervor of the late 60s when artists like Eva Hesse, Robert Morris and Alan Saret undermined the orderly Minimalist vocabulary with unexpected materials and irregular forms. . .Strzelec's works. . .are offered as commentary on the formal qualities of sculpture, but have been infused with just a little too much personality to mildly serve as object lessons. Art in America, July 2000. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11-6 P.M., and by appointment. Please contact the Gallery at 212.564.7662 for images and additional information.
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Jay
Grimm Gallery at 505 West 28th Street, New York, will hold an exhibition
of paintings by