10 Dec - The Art of Perception

LAUNCHPROJECTS - I am reading Robert Irwin's biography as slowly as possible. There is so much to it - it is subtle and complex and inspiring, much like Irwin's work itself. Learning more about Irwin's work and approach to life and art is shifting the way I consider and describe the highly complex and outwardly minimal paintings of LAUNCHPROJECTS artist Phil Binaco.

Philip Leider wrote in an exhibition catalog for a 1966 Irwin exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of art, "what Irwin manifestly wishes to do is to slow the viewer down, to prepare him, in effect, for an encounter. A certain measurable duration of time is necessary before one can even see what there is to be seen, so that the viewer will either see it the way Irwin wants him to see it or he will - quite literally - not see the painting at all".

This catalog excerpt is quoted by Weschler in Irwin's biography, then he goes on to describe witnessing a couple literally "not see" one of Irwin's 7-foot dot paintings hanging in a museum. Standing next to it at the Philadelphia Museum of Art "a couple walked into the room. The young woman, gesturing with a sweep of her arm, sighed in mock exasperation 'See, this is what I mean.' Her friend smiled knowingly... and the two moved quickly on. They had literally not seen a thing - one does not, one cannot in that amount of time. She was just sick and tired of having museum walls cluttered with empty white canvases."

Engaging, slowing down, allowing the energy and the beauty of what appears upon first blush to be "nothing" to reveal itself to us is a luxury that many of us choose not to take. There are certain artists - Phil Binaco, Robert Irwin, James Turrell, Agnes Martin - whose work we will literally miss if we do not take the time to wait and truly look. With time and attention these paintings open, they vibrate and "blush" as art critic William Wilson described in a Los Angeles Times review. They give back to us. In Weschler's words "engaging the picture, we in turn engage the wonder of our own perceptual facilities. As in so much of Irwin's later work, for a few moments, we perceive ourselves perceiving."

Pictured: Robert Irwin, Phil Binaco, Agnes Martin

10 August - SFMOMA + Francis Bacon

LAUNCHPROJECTS - We spent 10 days traveling through Northern California - Sea Ranch, Napa Valley, and San Francisco. Ben will blog later about our culinary and oneological experiences. While Ben was reading of food, wine, and other sundry activities in Hemingway's Garden of Eden, I was consumed with Michael Peppiatt's biography of Francis Bacon, Anatomy of an Enigma. Fully aware of Bacon's penchant for drink and intense periods of masochistic

debauchery, this biography gave me new insight into why he painted the subjects he did and how his painting style paralleled his own carefully-guarded personal life. Peppiatt was a close friend of Bacon's and traveled with him for decades as both biographer and confidante. This book is not only a page-turning and well written tale, it also offers and tremendous details of one of the most guarded, enigmatic, and powerful artists of the 20th century.

While in San Francisco we toured the Fischer collection at SFMOMA. Doris and Donald Fisher, founders of the The Gap, built a stunning collection of over 1,000 works of art by the most iconic artists of the 20th Century including Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, Anselm Kiefer, Roy Lichtenstein, Agnes Martin, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, and many more. Many of these works had never been previously exhibited and it is truly inspiring to see them all housed in such a lovely museum setting. On loan to the SFMOMA for the next 99 years, it is a mini-course in the history of modern and contemporary art and absolutely worth a visit.

29 June - Phil Binaco Studio Visit

LAUNCHPROJECTS - had a great studio visit this morning with Phil Binaco. He is such an incredible and meticulous artist, it is no wonder the New York Times described his work as "slightly intoxicating - animated by a hint of spiritual luminosity." A former friend and student of Agnes Martin, Binaco's works are included in permanent collections including the Albright Knox Art Gallery and the Neuberger Museum of Art. His show at LAUNCHPROJECTS in May was a fantastic success, and we are excited to also begin planning his summer exhibition in Venice, Italy.