Joseph Parra - Oh To Be a Painting 2

Oh To Be a Painting 2
Abigail Ogilvy Gallery

Group Exhibition - Curated by Katelyn Ledford
Los Angeles, CA
October 31 - December 16, 2023

Oh To Be a Painting 2, installation view, 2023

Abigail Ogilvy Gallery is pleased to present Oh To Be a Painting 2, a sophomore group exhibition curated by gallery artist Katelyn Ledford. The exhibition acts as part two to an online show Ledford curated with the gallery in 2020, Oh To Be a Painting, which – in the midst of a pandemic – explored what it means to look at paintings online, how painting’s 2D and 3D qualities are translated from physical to virtual space, and what might be lost in translation. Three years later, Ledford revisits those themes in a physical space, allowing viewers to engage in-person with the palpable materiality of paintings to expand and challenge their understanding of the relationship between painting as a two-dimensional image and three-dimensional, sculptural object.

Oh To Be a Painting 2 includes works by Merrick Adams, Paige Beeber, David Scanavino, Loren Erdrich, Todd Kelly, Joseph Parra, Christian Ruiz-Berman, Christine Wang, Shuai Yang, Mathew Zefeldt, and Caroline Zurmely. With a completely new roster of artists for its second edition, the group exhibition presents works which teeter between image and sculpture, as well as those which consider the ultra-flat possibilities of painting.

Curator Katelyn Ledford says,

“Is painting an image or object? Due to its two-dimensional nature and exacerbated by the ease of image sharing, painting has long been dismissed as only an image, failing to consider it in the round. Conversely, painting is largely defined by its 2D quality, so what does it mean when a painting extends beyond its flatness? Is it now sculpture? Bringing together artists of all painterly qualities, we will blend these two competing ideas so that viewers have to consider this group of paintings on equal footing. All must be viewed within the context of image and object, flat and sculptural.

So, is painting an image or object? I surely hope neither and both. Just enjoy the pleasure of looking at a painting, seeing its edges, dissecting its layers, and studying its imagery. Leave the baggage of theory and pigeon-holing ideas behind.”

Oh To Be a Painting 2 is part of Abigail Ogilvy Gallery’s Los Angeles program, which will primarily focus on exhibitions presented by guest curators, with a strong focus on showcasing a range of aesthetic perspectives and backgrounds within the Los Angeles area and the greater art market. Oh To Be a Painting 2 marks Ledford’s curatorial debut in a physical space.