Whitney Bedford

September 19—November 15, 2014

Carrie Secrist Gallery is thrilled to present our first solo exhibition with Los Angeles based artist Whitney Bedford, on view from September 19 – November 15, 2014.

Please join us for a reception for the artist on Friday, September 19 from 5-9 PM.

Whitney Bedford exhibits new maritime paintings; images of ships and shipwrecks that investigate the collision between the personal and the sublime. The slick surfaces are modulated with expressive brush strokes and strategically elaborated with flurries in ink. In each painting the movement of paint describes and embodies the power and the beauty of nature’s creative and destructive forces.

Bedford’s paintings depict both physical and emotional landscapes. In her new Icebergpaintings, isolated glaciers peak through the dense picture plane, suggesting both the singularity of each incident of ocean ice and the potentially treacherous mass beneath the surface. In much of her work, Bedford only hints at the depth of her subjects, allowing smooth ocean surfaces their own solidity without revealing what may be troubling the waters. Instead of representing what lies beneath, she activates the materiality of paint and ink to form rich psychological metaphors.

In addition to the shipwrecks and icebergs, Bedford will present large-scale fireworks executed in intense reds, magentas, and blacks. In the Love Letters series, bursts of gestural brushwork intermingle with precise line work that marks traces of light and smoke. Her shivering interpretations of fireworks capture the ineffable emotions of new love.

Whitney Bedford (American, b. 1976) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Her exhibition history includes The Jewish Museum, New York; Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA; Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO; and St. Paul St. Gallery, University of Auckland, Australia. Bedford’s work may be found in public and private collections worldwide including Jumex Collection, Mexico City, Mexico; Francois Pinault, Paris, France; The Saatchi Gallery, London, UK; and Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz, Miami, FL. She is the recipient of an MFA from the University of California Los Angeles (2003) and the Fulbright Visiting Artist grant, Berlin, Germany (1999). Whitney Bedford is also represented by Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Art & Concept, Paris, and Starkwhite, Auckland.

Please note: Carrie Secrist Gallery will present work by Whitney Bedford at Expo Chicago 2014, on view from September 18-21 at Navy Pier.

Please contact Stevie Greco at 312.491.0917 for more information.