Justin Margitich
works exhibitions news about
Networks
Feburary 7 - April 11, 2015
press release
Moskowitz Gallery is pleased to announce Networks, an exhibition of new paintings by artist Justin Margitich.
Works in the exhibition reveal themselves to be a steady point of entry into how we derive our synthetic, ordered networks from the natural world and, in doing so, inherently pushes the meaning of the term “network” past its pervasive association with the Internet. From the manner in which we connect socially, to the universal conductive paths on circuit boards, to vascular systems in plants and animals, it is hard to understand how any one mechanism can function without considering the network in which it operates.
Drawing from diverse disciplines including anthropology, taxonomy, geology, and alchemy, Margitich has moved from his large-scale graphite and metal point drawings to acrylic paintings on panel, adding new elements of color and texture while retaining close attention to space and atmosphere. In each work, brightly hued, organically flowing gradients are arranged in seemingly impossible configurations. Upon close observation, the inorganic plastic qualities of the artists’ materials become apparent to the viewer. Throughout the exhibition, these fluctuations between organic and inorganic are subtle reminders of where we find meaning in the order of our contemporary culture.
By creating a non-objective visual vocabulary, Margitich sets no limits on what types of networks the viewer is meant to perceive. Instead, he opens a dialogue that reexamines of the notion of the network and its extraordinary possibilities.
Justin Margitich received his BFA from California College of the Arts and his MFA from San Francisco Art Institute. He currently lives and works in the Bay Area.