Past Exhibition

Daniel Aksten

Support, Edge, Variation

"The knowledge of things bears the same relation to the knowledge of God as the things themselves to God." —Gilles Deleuze

May 6 – June 10, 2012
Artist Reception: Sunday, May 6, 5 – 7 p.m.

CB1 Gallery is pleased to present Support, Edge, Variation our second solo show of the work of Los Angeles artist, Daniel Aksten. Support, Edge, Variation continues the artist’s ongoing series of highly finished grid and striped paintings while adding an additional body of work referencing his work from earlier in his career. The conversation between these paintings deepens the context of both the reductive and additive work. The exhibition will be on view on May 6 through June 10, 2012. An opening reception for the artist will take place on Sunday, May 6, from 5 – 7 p.m.

Best known for his fastidious paintings of geometric solids composed by chance through a system involving the roll of a die, Daniel Aksten’s work in Support, Edge, Variation continues to stress the conceptual end of painting, as container of visual experience, true unto itself. His current work is informed by Robert Ryman’s list of a painting’s compositional components: primer, paint, support, edge and wall.

For Aksten, the importance of painting as object and its treatment has become increasingly significant. Beginning with his work in oils during the mid to late 1990s, surface and layer became a priority. Edging out expression and representation, in favor of resemblance, his work took on a more minimalist appearance. His process became less “painting” and more “making”. His minimalist philosophy led him to materials like resin and sprayed finishes, offering varieties of surface, free of the artist’s hand, like those of the “finish fetish” school, yet brought forward with the layering of optical vibrancy.

Los Angeles artist Daniel Aksten was born in New Hampshire and studied English and philosophy at Chico State University. Following his college years, during which he discovered Kafka and James Joyce, Aksten initially intended to pursue writing but discovered he could use visual art to explore his ideas in philosophy. Aksten began showing his paintings in the mid 90s including solo shows in San Diego (Simay Space) and Los Angeles (Post) and continues to exhibit his work in California and beyond.

David Pagel, Los Angeles Times review, May, 2012