Elizabeth Xi Bauer is thrilled to announce Land’s End, Abraham Kritzman’s first solo exhibition at the gallery. Through the display of paintings and a multimedia site-specific installation, the artist expands his ongoing investigation into notions of landscape and architecture. The latter is an amalgamation of various parts that are being assembled on-site for the first time, with the result constituting an L-shaped structure. These forming elements are as distinct from one another as they could be –a reflection of Kritzman’s many interests –showcasing an assortment of colours, shapes and textures that, through the skilled hands of the artist, give way to a solid whole.
Curator Maria do Carmo M. P. de Pontes explains the process of installing these elements: “When facing the installation, it is difficult to assume which of its many aspects will first catch the spectator’s attention. Perhaps it will be the columns, (HT Eyes Low, 2022) that seem to hold the parts together. These are made of dark wood slabs –a material that recurs in Kritzman’s vocabulary –aligned vertically, forming a textured yet somehow flat surface. There is a correlation of scale between the artist’s height and these columns, and a nod to monuments and ancient buildings is inevitable; yet to draw a strict parallel between object and architecture would prove delicate: it is too big to be a model, too small for an actual construction. Rather than round or square, the columns are shaped like Tetris pieces, with indentations that perfectly accommodate the watercolours that emerge from its sides.”