Plaza

Press Release

Nicelle Beauchene Gallery is pleased to present Plaza, an exhibition of recent sculpture and wall reliefs by Ned Colclough. This will be the artist’s third solo presentation at the gallery.

Working in a neutral palette, Colclough employs gesture via materials — the curve of a brass piece, the subtle shadows made by depths within the picture plane, an exposed metal edge. A special emphasis is placed on frames, edges, and delineations — the wall works suggest the proportion of a mirror or a window.

Invoking architecture, furniture, jewelry, and décor, these inoperative objects gesture toward the functional. Pedestrian materials — aluminum, enamel, fabric, and brass — are transformed away from their typical functions in Colclough’s exacting compositions and meticulous juxtapositions. Removed from their ubiquitous uses, these generic materials seesaw between banality and luxury and begin to take on a multivalence of meanings.

The show’s title, Plaza, conjures many levels of significance à la de Chirico. Colclough deals with spaces and objects that could serve myriad purposes, in which numerous meanings could be embedded. This new series of work is born from the artist’s interest in both 16th century Mannerist architecture and painting and postmodernist architect Robert Venturi’s interpretation thereof. These seemingly disparate design moments are united by a celebration of ambiguity and an inclination toward conflict. Colclough’s polysemous works make us reconsider functionality and embrace a multiplicity of readings. They reward quiet reflection; their small details vibrate over time.

Ned Colclough earned his BFA from the NSYCC, School of Art & Design in Alfred, NY. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in private and public venues including: the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA), Portland, OR; Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton, NY; Center for the Arts Gallery, Towson University, MD; Wallspace, NY; The Brooklyn City Pavilion, 9th Shanghai Biennial, curated by Cleopatra’s, Shanghai, China (traveling); Printed Matter, NY, and in curated exhibitions by Apartment Show. He is a recipient of the 140 Foundation Emerging Artist Grant. The artist lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.