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Vaughn Spann

VAUGHN SPANN

Trilogy Almine Rech 5–28 October 2023 New York, Tribeca
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Press Release

Frightened by the wrath of mother nature yet fascinated by her vivid allure, Spann hascreated a new series of “Hurricane paintings”. These works, expansive in scale were allcreated using the brute force of directional gesture via hand and forearm, removing himselffrom dependency upon brushes and into a space of pure abstraction. The exhibit titled”Trilogy” was conceived upon by the anxiety of the day. Consistently being thrown back, forth,up, down and around without any real sense of control has become the new mental state. Thewhiplash of headlines from global and economic swings, fires from here to Maui, social mediaobsession and brinks of nuclear catastrophe is cyclical. Extending through both levels of thegallery these new paintings will adjoin two distinct bodies of work with common themes frommovement to resilience with a focus on color, form and nature. In thematic conjunction of theexhibition and in honor of the new Tribeca space, Spann has sought out David Orr for a keynote poem.

The Big Bad

At last we decoded the terminal message,

Only to find the pattern we had expected

Was false–a false trail of false breadcrumbs

Designed to leave pitfalls undetected.

We found a new pattern. We found a hand

Moving pieces we had thought were only

Part of the board, and shifting them to vantage points

We had ignored. We rewrote the battle plan

And reconfigured the satellite array

To show our progress from the very beginning.

The fault should be traceable—and hence correctable—

And once we found it, we’d be winning.

We found a new pattern. We followed its track

To a forest beside an abandoned tunnel

Diving wide as a boxcar into the rock.

A stale breeze blew over rusting shovels

And all of our instruments confirmed a hit.

We set a perimeter. We sent in a scout.

From the interior, nothing looked back at us.

No tracks indicated a force had come out.

But we had a pattern. At dawn, we dispatched

A team of our best, our trackers and stone killers,

To see if the signals were finally a match

And if so, to counterattack. And now we wait.

And now we wait. The tunnel gives nothing back.

The trees are revealing the first signs of gold

But the air is unmoving. The air is still.

It is quiet here, and getting cold.

–David Orr

Almine Rech is pleased to present Vaughn Spann’s fifth solo show with the gallery, on viewfrom October 5 - 28, 2023.

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About the Artist

Vaughn Spann devotes his practice to abstraction and figuration as an investigation into space, time and memory. He locates subjects from deeply personal spaces as he reconciles with his body within and out of the studio. With a deep admiration for formalism, he enjoys approaching paintings through the lens of colour, line, and shape, but seemingly understands that one’s subjectivity can’t simply be divorced from the studio. For him, a form is a striking means of generating content in ways that are compelling. His formal investigation permeates throughout his paintings, symbolically reflecting his encounters with diverse people and places. Through his well-known stylistic separations, Spann continues to vigorously experiment with unconventional materials and expands on his personal and historical narratives.

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Also Exhibiting

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Vaughn Spann
VAUGHN SPANN (All) Americans Almine Rech 8 May–13 June 2026 New York, Tribeca
Address
361 Broadway
New York
United States
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Saturday
10am – 6pm
(1)
New York 361 Broadway
Almine Rech contemporary art gallery in New York Tribeca United States
Almine Rech
361 Broadway, New York, United States
http://www.alminerech.com

Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday
10am – 6pm
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