TAMAR HALPERN PLAYBACK NOVEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 31, 2016
TAMAR HALPERN PLAYBACK NOVEMBER 12 DECEMBER 31, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MIER GALLERY is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new paintings by New York-based artist Tamar Halpern. The exhibition will open Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 7313 Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, and will be on view through December 31, 2016. An brunch vernissage will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2016 from 11:00am 4:00pm. Playback. The last of Raymond Chandler's novels, written before he died, takes place in the fictional town of Esmeralda a pseudonym for La Jolla, California. Chandler was the master of film noir. Playback makes me think of a tape rewinding... like the disintegration loops by William Basinski... in the 1980s, Basinski constructed a series of tape loops consisting of processed snatches of music captured from an easy listening station. When going through his archives in 2001, he decided to digitize the decades-old loops to preserve them. He started a loop on his digital recorder and left it running, and when he returned a short while later, he noticed that the tape was gradually crumbling as it played. The fine coating of magnetized metal was slivering off, and the music was decaying slightly with each pass through the spindle. Astonished, Basinski repeated the process with other loops and obtained similar results. Jazz, japanoise, hip hop, the blues, improvisation, sampling, layering... Work is alive. Changing, breathing. acting, reacting, in dialogue with the other performers.my work, repurposing images, layers, information... combining them and reusing them in new, different ways... creating new works... new content. constantly rewinding and pushing play. only each time the layers play they are a little different... with every use and reuse of a layer or an image, disintegration and accumulation occurs... Comedy of Errors, a title taken from Patti Smith's book M Train... it s a description she uses in her book to describe herself on a particular day... "a victim of my own comedy of errors.". a large part of my process is creating space for errors to occur, these errors combined with my intention create the final compositions or paintings. That's what I call magic... Light and shadow... Reflection of my studio space. The Screen, layers in Photoshop. the actions I take while working on the computer are the same actions I make physically while working on the paintings. the digital mirrors the physical. I drag and drop layers on my computer screen, I decide how these layers react with the layers below and above, I add color, change color, change the saturation or the density of a layer... I cut and paste in the computer... and I cut and paste in the physical realm... I drag in the physical, coaxing the physical layers so that they may be curvy or straight, I decide how to affect the clarity of information, or density of the layer, I add a layer of dark or white above or below each layer. affecting its light. or inner glow. Some digital layers are completely fictions... others are from photographic files... some are the combination. some are generations and generations of accumulation and disintegration... others are younger... simpler. Less affected. I must not forget to mention my printer and the arguments that explode between us while I m trying to work the drama, the frustrations. the scars that are left from the clashing of these two very different minds are often seen as gestures in my paintings. A frustrating yet at times a productive collaborator in my work. ----- After my mom passed away, I was struggling in NY, so I traveled... I traveled to places that called to my inner self... to my essence. My travels took me to Morocco, Israel. and Venice.
I have a natural bond or affinity with the desert, the North African, Middle Eastern culture, Mediterranean and Ottoman culture... mother s father s family is originally from Spain... growing up in Israel, traveling to the Sinai desert, staying with Bedouins, going on trips through the desert by camel... sleeping in Bedouin tents. always felt like being at home. Traveling to North Africa this year, admiring the lace work etched into wood and marble, the hard solid material felt delicate, gentle, ephemeral... a veil obstructing my view while trying to look through. Patterns and colors of the carpets, garments, fabrics. at people's homes I noticed Moroccans throw carpets, layered unto each other to form wall to wall carpeting. They also use layered textiles to cover cushions for their couches... and of course use these same patterned textiles for pillow cases and blankets. Patterns on patterns. The Bedouin tents are made of heavy patterned textiles stitched together and shaped over a skeleton... creating rooms with carpeted floors. stitched again to the adjacent room... until a circle is formed, a dwelling, protecting its occupants on the inside from the harsh winds and sun blowing across the sands... I traveled through Turkey for five weeks... The Turks use patterned tiles to line their walls. Creating even larger patterns... made me feel as if heavy textiles were hanging. much like the Bedouin tents I slept in the desert... Venice where I spent a week looking at Titian, Tiepolo and Tintoretto. It is when I returned from my travels that I began to play with layering silk onto other layers of printed silk... allowing for one layer of information, image to respond to the layer below... producing a third layer of content... a moving narrative. Japanese street photography of the 70 s and 80 s, literature, film, music, traveling. origami flowers.. light, shadows... photographic information that my camera picks up when photographing my work... photographing texture or material around the studio. My cats that wander into and out of the frame, plants or ladders that can t seem to ever get out of the way enough. Information. noise from the camera, the file the photographer. me. The content of the final paintings. are recordings or the aftermaths of their creation. evidence of the private performance that took place in my studio. they are the combination of the physical and the digital gestures. mechanical and hand that took place on their surface. Their density is a fine balancing act between improvisation and structure rhythm and chaos. clarity and noise. Some paintings are quiet, some are loud, some reveal themselves slowly. like the shadows in a Raymond Chandler film slowly revealing the forms that are hidden within, some lay themselves bare quickly like pop. I am thinking of the composition... not the materials. I follow the work visually, not conceptually. My goal is to make a painting. The final composition is important. there is a point to which I say: this is finished. This is the composition that I feel works. The end composition is what I m driving to. Tamar Halpern (b. 1979, Los Angeles) has had solo exhibitions at On Stellar Rays, New York (2015); Six Minutes of Pleasure at Office Baroque, Antwerp, Belgium (2013/2012); Get Up with It at Triple V, Paris, France (2013); Now honey play me close like sugar play me toast at Galeria Pedro Cera, Lisbon, Portugal (2012); Fear for Poet and Drink Whiskey at Egeran Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey (2012); and D Amelio Terras, New York (2011). Group exhibitions include Fixing a Hole at Koenig & Clinton, New York (2014); Post Culture at Elizabeth Dee, New York (2013); Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control at Callicoon Fine Arts, New York (2013); The Cat Show curated by Rhonda Lieberman at White Columns, New York (2013/2010/2009/2008); Braverman Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel (2010); Greater New York, MoMA/PS1, Queens, NY (2010); The Knight s Move curated by Fionn Meade, Sculpture Center, Queens (2010); Which Witch is Which? curated by Ajay Kurian, White Flag, St. Louis, (2010); On Stellar Rays, New York (2009). Halpern lives and works in Brooklyn.
Tamar Halpern Black Magic, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, silk on linen 68 x 58 inches (172.7 x 147.3 cm) TH16.003
Tamar Halpern Black Magic, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, silk on linen 68 x 58 inches (172.7 x 147.3 cm) TH16.003
Tamar Halpern Black Magic, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, silk on linen 68 x 58 inches (172.7 x 147.3 cm) TH16.003
Tamar Halpern A Comedy of Errors, 2016 UltraChrome ink, silk on linen 70 x 60 inches (177.8 x 152.4 cm) TH16.006
Tamar Halpern A Comedy of Errors, 2016 UltraChrome ink, silk on linen 70 x 60 inches (177.8 x 152.4 cm) TH16.006
Tamar Halpern A Comedy of Errors, 2016 UltraChrome ink, silk on linen 70 x 60 inches (177.8 x 152.4 cm) TH16.006
Tamar Halpern Outer Nothingness, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, gift wrapping paper, cotton twill, silk on linen 70 x 60 inches (177.8 x 152.4 cm) TH16.008
Tamar Halpern Outer Nothingness, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, gift wrapping paper, cotton twill, silk on linen 70 x 60 inches (177.8 x 152.4 cm) TH16.008
Tamar Halpern Outer Nothingness, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, gift wrapping paper, cotton twill, silk on linen 70 x 60 inches (177.8 x 152.4 cm) TH16.008
Tamar Halpern Late Night Tales, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, gift wrapping paper, vellum, silk on linen 67 x 57 inches (170.2 x 144.8 cm) TH16.009
Tamar Halpern Late Night Tales, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, gift wrapping paper, vellum, silk on linen 67 x 57 inches (170.2 x 144.8 cm) TH16.009
Tamar Halpern Late Night Tales, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, gift wrapping paper, vellum, silk on linen 67 x 57 inches (170.2 x 144.8 cm) TH16.009
Tamar Halpern Romeo Must Die, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, vellum, silk on linen 42 x 32 inches (106.7 x 81.3 cm) TH16.010
Tamar Halpern Romeo Must Die, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, vellum, silk on linen 42 x 32 inches (106.7 x 81.3 cm) TH16.010
Tamar Halpern Romeo Must Die, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, vellum, silk on linen 42 x 32 inches (106.7 x 81.3 cm) TH16.010
Tamar Halpern The Ticking Monster Clock, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, gift wrapping paper, vellum, silk on linen 70 x 60 inches (177.8 x 152.4 cm) TH16.013
Tamar Halpern The Ticking Monster Clock, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, gift wrapping paper, vellum, silk on linen 70 x 60 inches (177.8 x 152.4 cm) TH16.013
Tamar Halpern The Ticking Monster Clock, 2016 UltraChrome ink, archival paper, gift wrapping paper, vellum, silk on linen 70 x 60 inches (177.8 x 152.4 cm) TH16.013
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
Installation view, Tamar Halpern: Playback, November 12 December 31, 2016, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles.
TAMAR HALPERN Born 1979, Los Angeles, CA Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY EDUCATION 2005 MFA Columbia University, New York, NY 2003 BFA College of Santa Fe, New Mexico, NM SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2016 Playback, MIER GALLERY, Los Angeles, CA 2015 My Voice at the Pace of Drifting Clouds, On Stellar Rays, New York, NY 2013 Six Minutes of Pleasure, Office Baroque, Antwerp, Belgium Get Up With It, Triple V, Paris, France 2012 Now honey play me close like sugar play me toast, Galeria Pedro Cera, Lisbon, Portugal Fear for Poet and Drink Whiskey, Egeran Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey Tamar Halpern, Office Baroque, Antwerp, Belgium 2011 Tamar Halpern, D'Amelio Terras, New York, NY 2010 Short Trip To Nowhere (Part II), D'amelio Terras, New York, NY Short Trip To Nowhere (Part I), Office Baroque, Antwerp, Belgium 2008 Photographs, Tony Wight Gallery, Chicago, IL 2007 White Room: Tamar Halpern, White Columns, New York, NY SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015 2159 Miles, All Around Art & Brand New Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico 2014 Process Priority, Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA Fixing A Hole, Koenig & Clinton, New York, NY Lovers, Starkwhite, Auckland, New Zealand 2013 Post Culture, Elizabeth Dee, New York, NY Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control, Callicoon Fine Arts, New York, NY The Cat Show, curated by Rhonda Lieberman, White Columns, New York, NY 2012 The Space in Between, Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA 2011 NY: New Perspectives, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy Nereden Nereye, Galeri Manâ, Istanbul, Turkey Catalogue de l'exposition / Catalogue of the Exhibition, curated by Bob Nickas, TRIPLE V, Paris, France Group Show, Tony Wight Gallery, Chicago, IL 2010 Looking Back / The Fifth White Columns Annual, curated by Bob Nickas, White Columns, New York, NY Which Witch is Which?, curated by Ajay Kurian, White Flags, St. Louis, MO Greater New York, curated by Klaus Biesenbach, Connie Butler and Neville Wakefield, MoMA PS1, Queens, NY Owl Stretching Time, curated by Gyonata Bonvicini, Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin, Germany Knight's Move, curated by Fionn Meade, Sculpture Center, New York, NY Pervasive Influence, curated by Mia Nielsen, Contact Photography Festival/Drake Hotel, Toronto, Canada In a Paperweight, Tony Wight Gallery, Chicago, IL Metamorphoses: Error, curated by Ofri Cnaani, Braverman Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel 2009 Processed: Considering Recent Photographic Practices, curated by Amy Scally, Hunter College, New York, NY From Yarn to Yucca, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY Collection of, White Columns, New York, NY
Palomar: Experimental Photography, Marvelli Gallery, New York, NY Xerox Prints, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL Olio, Tony Wight Gallery, Chicago, IL Separate Entities, Museum 52, New York, NY This-Has-Been, On Stellar Rays, New York, NY Photography in the Abstract, Lora Reynolds Gallery, Austin, TX 2008 Gallery Artists, Office Baroque, Antwerp, Belgium The Gentle Art of Collapsing the Expanded Field, curated by Chris Sharp, Atelier Cardenas Bellanger, Paris, France Maria Antelman, Tamar Halpern, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, CA Update, White Columns, New York, NY A New High in Getting Low, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY Jeremy Chance & Tamar Halpern & Davis Rhodes, Office Baroque, Antwerp, Belgium 2007 A New High In Getting Low, curated by John Connelly, Art Forum Berlin, Germany; traveled to John Connelly Presents, New York, NY Distinctive Messengers, curated by Simon Watson and Craig Hensala, House of Campari, New York, NY [Catalog] Tamar Halpern, Florian Morlat, Michael Phelan, Eleven Rivington, New York, NY 2006 Two Friends and So On, Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York, NY SELECTED PUBLICATIONS 2012 "Goings on about Town: Knight's Move." The New Yorker (June 7, 2012) 2010 Goings on About Town: Art. The New Yorker (February 8, 2010) Goings on About Town: Art. The New Yorker (May 15, 2010) Marshall, Piper. Critic s Pick: Tamar Halpern. Artforum (June 2010) [online] Nickas, Bob. Emerging Artists. Frieze Magazine (January/February 2010) 2009 "Goings on about Town: Processed: Considering Recent Photographic Practices." The New Yorker (December 7, 2009) Aletti, Vince. Palomar: Experimental Photography." The New Yorker (June 2, 2009) Schwendener, Martha. Contemporary Art Photographers Mess With the Medium. The Village Voice (October 13, 2009) Walleston, Aimee. "Photography Wow." New York Times (June 5, 2009) 2008 Weinstein, Michael. Tamar Halpern/Tony Wight Gallery. New City Chicago (October 30, 2008) 2007 Cotter, Holland. Tamar Halpern, Florian Morlat, Michael Phelan. The New York Times (October 19, 2007) Kessler, Sara. LES Gallery Scene. Artkrush Magazine (October 17, 2007) Lehan, Joanna. Eye On the Scene. Photograph (September 2007) Rosenberg, Karen. LES is More. New York Magazine (September 3, 2007) ARTIST BOOKS/ CATALOGS 2010 Sharp, Chris. Knight s Move, Sculpture Center, New York, 2010 2009 Scally, Amie. Processed: Considering Recent Photographic Practices, Hunter College of the City University of New York, 2009 2008 No Hip Shit, New York, self-published in assistance with Tony Wight Gallery 2007 Half Deaf, Artist s book, New York, NY Half Mute, Artist s book, New York, NY The W.C. #16: Tamar Halpern, White Columns, New York, NY