Ground Truth: Peter Happel Christian

Peter Happel Christian measures, collects information, and records data, creating sculptures and photographs that are positioned at the intersection of art, science, and history. His exhibition Ground Truth explores the history of land stewardship and the use of visual technology to chart, measure, and document natural phenomena. Both photography and geographic image systems have developed into hyper-accurate tools that elicit a strong push-pull effect on the viewer. Happel Christian is interested in the aesthetics of photographs and how color, composition, and elusive details hold viewers’ attention. But he also critiques the limits of photography by exploring what the medium cannot do.

Download the exhibition brochure of Peter Happel Christian’s Ground Truth (pdf)

Painting Before & After Words: Margaret Wall-Romana

The works in Margaret Wall-Romana’s  exhibition Painting Before and After Words are neither illustrations of an idea or concept, nor are they purely abstract, gestural tracings. Eschewing sketches, she paints directly, employing precise control of and fluid response to the vicissitudes of oil paint. Approaching the paintings, viewers can experience a terrible boundlessness that carries their eyes and minds beyond reality. A sharp student of art history, she conflates the still-life delicacies of the Dutch Golden Age with Mannerist attitudes towards scale, Hudson River School atmospherics, and yolky Abstract Expressionist smears. Wall-Romana channels the sublime grandeur of earlier painters, but succeeds in striking viewers at a sensory level rather than belaboring the narrative themes of history painting.

Download the exhibition brochure of Margaret Wall Romana’s Painting Before and After Words (pdf)

Generous support for MAEP is provided by The McKnight Foundation and Jerome Foundation.