Bent Geometry
You Should Own Art, Edition 21
Hello friends. It’s been a while. You’d be forgiven for wondering if Y.S.O.A. continues as a going concern. And if you did, you are. Because in truth, I’ve found it hard lately to sit myself down and pull one of these suckers together. There’s been a fog that’s sat resolutely and unbudgingly in the space between inspiration and action. This fog has the effect of diffusing energy such that the wee sparks that emerge from the murk are so attenuated as to be incapable to igniting anything meaningful.
Perhaps this is down to the lingering effects of a recent dance with Covid. Or seasonal routines remaking themselves. Or project overload (I have lots of projects). Or maybe it’s just too G.D. hot for coherent thought. Regardless, here we are again and I’m very excited to share some art with you.
In the past couple of months, a pair of books have had a profound affect on me. If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that my relationship with abstract art is unresolved. I have had a hard time expressing why I like one abstract work verses another - or even if I like them at all. I’ve been on way more solid ground with works that are figurative, meaning they recognizably and concretely depict things in the world: people, places and things. It’s not just that these works are easier to read, but that I can more easily appreciate the craft and skill that goes into making them.
But then I discovered the works of Anni Albers, Josef Albers, and Sol Lewitt. Of course I had been aware of these artists, but while I had looked, I never really saw. These books, Anni & Josef Albers, Equal and Unequal, and Sol Lewitt, A Retrospective helped me understand the thinking and the process behind their work. But, through some mysterious, miraculous mechanism, I think I was also ready to get it.
And so, this edition is dedicated to works that follow a path constructed of rigorous rules and constraints that are artfully demolished.
Study Rug
Anni Albers
Wool rug, 60 × 36 × 1 in, Edition of 150
USD$900
This is produced based on a cotton and silk tapestry design from way back 1926. The fact that a nearly one hundred year old design feels entirely contemporary says something about the endurance of the design itself.
You can buy this work here.
The Albers Foundation Instagram is absolutely worth a follow.
The Albers Foundation website.
Portfolio 2, Folder 10, Image 1
Josef Albers
Silkscreen print, 15 x 20 inches, Edition of 1000
USD$800
Like many artists before and since, iteration through a tight set of rules was a part of Josef’s practice. I think it’s fascinating to unlock an image like this and decipher the inner machinery.
You can buy this work here.
1970s Geometric Black and White Abstract Lithograph
Artist unknown
Lithograph, 12.5 x 14.5 inches
USD$450
I couldn’t find anything by Sol Lewitt that wasn’t inhumanly expensive. I did find this little number which is certainly Lewittian. As you can see it is not unlike the Josef Albers work above. Influence on influence, wheels within wheel.
Side note: if you’re thinking “gilt frame WTF”, you ain’t alone. I’m sure you could find another home for this one.
You can buy this work here.
resonanzen
Astrid Schröder
Penball on paper, 12 3/5 × 8 3/10 inches
€650
The simplest of materials, the simplest of gestures (a straight line, y’all) and an image of impossible complexity. I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on here.
You can buy this work here.
Astrid’s Instagram
Astrid’s website
Untitled, 2009
Jacinthe Lessard-L
Photograph C-Print, 20.00 x 24.00 in, Edition of 25
USD$750
Quotidian objects photographed so as to be rendered abstract - I’m here for it all day long. I also love that this could easily be still from a Wong Kar-wei film.
You can buy this work here.
I couldn’t find a website or an Instagram account for Jacinthe. If anyone comes across some info, let me know.
Untitled, 2020
Alicia McCarthy
Archival Pigment Print, 20 × 20 inches, Edition of 30
USD$900
I think this is a picture of the multiverse.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about Alicia and her work, there’s a movie!
You can buy this work here.
Alicia’s Instagram
Untitled - A Study
Schuyler Standish
Oil on Paper, 6 x 4 inches, unframed
I’m drawn in my the muted colors and the organic shapes among the hard edges. I could look at this for a long time.
And, it turns out that Schuyler lived a very full life.
You can buy this work here.
Fudge It, 2022
Leah Diament
Cyanotype collage print, 11 × 13 inches
USD$128
I guess I’m deviating from the theme here, if we’re being strict about it. But I came across this and I had to include it. It’s a joy.
You can buy this work here.
Leah’s Instagram
Leah’s website
Flare, 2021
Frea Buckler
Acrylic on paper. 7 9/10 × 7 9/10 inches
£415
I’ve featured Frea’s work before. I just find it endlessly interesting. And the color is always fantastic.
You can buy this work here.
Frea’s Instagram
Frea’s website
Geometric Composition, 1979
Marie Therese Vacossin
Color Silkscreen, 14.00 x 13.30 inches
$550
We’re ending where we began: with a work that is thoughtful, rigorous, and beautiful.
You can buy this work here.
Here’s some information on Marie Therese.
As always, thank you so much for subscribing. Please let me know any thoughts and ideas these works inspire. And, please, the best way to support art and artists is to bring the work into your homes and lives. The second best way, is to get your friends and frenemies to subscribe to Y.S.O.A. Hey!
See you next month!
Big Anni fan over here ❤️