Josh Sperling "Man Child" at Bill Brady Gallery
by Joel Linkewer on March 10, 2017
Although relatively new to the local gallery landscape, Little River’s Bill Brady Gallery brings years of experience to its fresh South-Florida space. Having spent 20 years in NYC’s East Village as ATM Gallery, and more recently in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, building his namesake gallery, Bill Brady’s current iteration brings some of the most exciting emerging and mid-career artists to Miami. To date, the gallery has presented shows by Tomoo Gokita, Greg Bodin, Josh Reams, and Tony Matelli, many of whom showing for their first time in Miami.
For their newest exhibition, Bill Brady has tapped Josh Sperling, an emerging Brooklyn-based artist. Sperling received his BFA from SUNY Potsdam NY and has since held solo shows at, Retrospective Gallery, Hudson NY, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York NY, and has a forthcoming show at Galerie Perrotin, Paris, France in 2018. Despite his many recent presentations, “Man Child” is his first show with Bill Brady.
Comprised of eight wall-mounted CNC shapes, the new pieces add pleasant splotches of color to Brady’s white cube space. Upon closer inspection, the irregularly shaped canvases present textured surfaces that mix and intermingle with their bright geometric counterparts. Each piece builds on the next through Sperling's use of clean lines, overlapping shapes, and gradual use transparency. They can be likened to an 80’s or 90’s graphic aesthetic.
The dynamic works challenge the traditional use of rectangular canvases not only in their unconventional shapes, but also through their three-dimensional and architectural relief qualities. Sperling executes this effect by stretching canvas over interlocking and stacked segments, nearly sculptures in their own. The practice recalls artists before him whom have also made paintings as objects, such as Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Mangold, Imi Knoebel or Frank Stella. Sperling’s renditions of these ideas, though rooted in older themes, appear excitingly fresh and make for a must see.
"Man Child" is now on view through March 25 at Bill Brady Gallery 7140 NW Miami Court Miami, FL 33150. Images by Bill Brady.