Faktura / Tektonika

The exhibition Faktura / Tektonika presents a selection of works that highlight two foundational components of early 20th-century Constructivism: faktura, the material properties of an object, and tektonika, an object’s spatial presence. In the lineage of the Constructivist movement, the exhibition foregrounds artists who emphasize material and form as active forces in artistic production. Through a range of practices that include the use of industrial media, alternative photographic processes, and an exploration of the self-reflexive properties of a chosen material, the works on view investigate the ways in which surface, structure, and perception intersect. Bringing together artists from within and beyond the gallery’s program, Faktura / Tektonika draws connections between emerging and established artists across multiple generations in the enduring spirit of this revolutionary movement in the history of art. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, June 26, from 5:30-7:30pm.

Embodying Faktura / Tektonika is the work of pioneering Cuban artist Dolores “Loló” Soldevilla (1901–1971) whose geometric constructions emphasize modularity, spatial relationships, and a Constructivist approach to building form through her use of material and exploration of dimensionality. Works on paper by Marco Castillo (b. 1971) are a result of his observations of quotidian materials and bring geometric elements from the historical context of Modernist, Soviet, and Cuban design into the present moment. Similarly, circular forms from throughout art history are graphically employed in the paintings of Jose Dávila (b. 1975). Dávila’s stone and concrete sculptures echo architectural structure and stability, highlighting the Constructivist emphasis of industrial materials.

Also engaging with industrial materials are Ernesto Burgos (b. 1979), Harminder Judge (b. 1982), Sam Moyer (b. 1983), and Hugo McCloud (b. 1980). The works of Ernesto Burgos exist at the intersection of painting and sculpture with substrates composed of cardboard, fiberglass, and resin finished with oil and charcoal; these pieces assert themselves into space through their corporeal presence. Harminder Judge layers pigment into wet plaster, sanding, polishing, and oiling his panels to luminous, sensuous effect. Sam Moyer, in contrast, paints plaster-coated canvas to serve as the ground for pieces of salvaged stone embedded into her paintings, which, along with her freestanding sculptures, highlight texture, composition, and assemblage. Hugo McCloud’s “stamped” paintings reference industrial construction and material labor with repetitive patterns that have been impressed on malleable tar paper.

While photography is often associated with capturing reality, Faktura / Tektonika foregrounds artists who challenge this assumption by using alternative photographic processes to construct their images rather than simply capture them. James Casebere (b. 1953) builds intricate architectural models, which he then lights and photographs, to create images that reimagine both the context and content of the structures that influence them. Julian Charrière’s (b. 1987) heliographs of California oil fields are created with the raw materials of their depicted sites by incorporating naturally occurring tar into a light-sensitive emulsion on highly polished stainless-steel plates. Wu Chi-Tsung (b. 1981) engages with the Constructivist affinity for photomontage and collage in his Cyano-collage series, in which the artist layers torn pieces of exposed cyanotype paper on aluminum panels, blurring the lines between figuration, abstraction and representation. In a rarely exhibited early work by Anthony McCall (b. 1943), the artist carefully burnt documentation photographs of his groundbreaking performance Landscape for Fire, 1972, an act that collapses the dichotomy of ephemerality and permanence by utilizing the enduring effects of a temporal element.

A number of the artists exhibited articulate the intersection of faktura and tektonika by engaging with spatial presence through the material substance of their work. Among them are Brian Rochefort (b. 1985), whose sculptures aggregate ceramic and glass across multiple firings. Donna Huanca’s (b. 1980), stainless steel freestanding sculptures evoke pierced biomorphic forms, becoming an extension and reflection of the body and space. Likewise, the surfaces of Nir Hod’s (b. 1970) paintings, on which layers of chrome and oil paint are built up and worn away, transmogrify the relationship between viewer, space, and the art object itself. Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola’s (b. 1991) sewn durag “paintings” merge the literal and metaphorical fabric of cultural symbolism with formal construction.

Canvases by Janaina Tschäpe (b. 1973), Lindsay Adams (b. 1990), Nour Malas (b. 1995), and Ilana Savdie (b. 1986) emphasize the material qualities of paint. Tschäpe and Adams' bold use of color and gesture creates abstracted landscapes rooted in emotional experience that blur the lines between imagination and reality. Malas’ works feature oil and pastel emerging from the ground of the canvas with a powerful and pulsating palette, reflecting an ever-fluid and turbulent psychic presence. Savdie’s vibrant compositions suggest the language of collage with layers of stain-like washes of color, contrasting visible brushwork with smooth applications of paint, and incorporating highly textural beeswax to create dreamlike works with mutable figuration and meaning.

Together, the artists and works presented in Faktura / Tektonika underscore the dynamic relationship between materiality, form, and space, and challenge conventional perceptions of how art is made and experienced. Through their innovative use of materials, each artist contributes to a broader dialogue about how both physical and conceptual construction shapes our understanding of the world around us.

This exhibition has been curated by Robert Spring.