Palermo: Works 1973-1976

David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition of works by German artist Palermo (1943-1977) at the gallery’s 537 West 20th Street location. The exhibition, organized in collaboration with the Palermo Archive, will feature a selection of rarely shown paintings, objects, and large-scale drawings made by the artist between 1973 and 1976.

Although often associated with particular twentieth century art historical practices and discourses—including abstraction, Minimalism, and Conceptual Art—Palermo’s diverse body of work defies easy classification. Throughout his brief and influential career, Palermo executed paintings, “objects,” installations, wall drawings, and works on paper that addressed the contextual and semantic issues at stake in the construction, exhibition, and reception of works of art. His handling of form, color, and composition comprises a complex and experimental investigation of aesthetic concepts and of the semiotic possibilities of visual language.

For more information about available works contact inquiries@davidzwirner.com

Location

537 West 20th Street New York

Dates

February 26—April 11, 2015

Artist

Palermo

Press Release

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Works 1973-1976

Blinky Palermo

Ohne Titel (Untitled), 1973

Primer, oil, fabric, and wood

98 7/8 x 26 3/8 x 3 5/8 inches (251 x 67 x 9.3 cm)

Blinky Palermo

Ohne Titel (für Thordes) (Untitled [for Thordes]), 1966

Casein and muslin on wood

8 7/8 x 17 7/8 x 3/4 inches (22.5 x 45.4 x 1.9 cm)

Palermo: Works on Paper 1976-1977

Artist: Palermo

$50.00

This fully illustrated catalogue features new scholarship by Christine Mehring and Christoph Schreier and documents the 2013 exhibition at David Zwirner in New York. It is the first publication to tackle Palermo’s late work, which is characterized by explorations of the tensions between material and color, surface and depth, and figuration and abstraction—focusing in particular on the paper works he produced between 1976 and 1977, the last year of his life. “Less a system builder than an analyst working on intuition,” writes Schreier in his catalogue essay, Palermo “explored surface, shape, and color—the constituent elements of the image—with the aim of turning them into actors with a lively and delicately balanced play of forces.” The simplicity of the artist’s vision is beautifully evinced by the catalogue’s vibrant color plates, which reveal every stroke and each grain of paper shining through from behind the pigment.

Blinky Palermo

Wooster Street, 1975

Acrylic on aluminum in two (2) parts

Each: 22 1/2 x 20 11/16 inches (57.2 x 52.5 cm) Overall: 22 1/2 x 41 5/16 inches (57.2 x 104.9 cm)

Blinky Palermo

Osten-Westen III (East-West III), 1976

Acrylic on steel in two (2) parts

Each: 39 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches (100.3 x 100.3 cm) Overall: 39 1/2 x 79 inches (100.3 x 200.7 cm)

Installation view of the exhibition Palermo: Works 1973 to 1976, at David Zwirner in New York, dated 2015.

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