Phase Transition at Roman Susan

Added on by Cole Pierce.

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Installation View, #63 (left) #55 (right) on site specific wall painting 

Installation View, #63 (left) #55 (right) on site specific wall painting 

Installation view #55 (left) #70 (right) on site specific wall painting

Installation view #55 (left) #70 (right) on site specific wall painting

Installation view #55 on site specific wall painting

Installation view #55 on site specific wall painting

Installation view #55 and #70 onsite specific wall painting

Installation view #55 and #70 onsite specific wall painting

#57 (2014) Acrylic on Panel, 12"x12", Installed on site specific wall painting

#57 (2014) Acrylic on Panel, 12"x12", Installed on site specific wall painting

Installation View #55, #70, #69, #57 on site specific wall painting

Installation View #55, #70, #69, #57 on site specific wall painting

#69 (2015) Acrylic on Canvas, 20"x20"

#69 (2015) Acrylic on Canvas, 20"x20"

#70 (2015) Acrylic on Canvas, 24"x24"

#70 (2015) Acrylic on Canvas, 24"x24"

#63 (2014) Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 48"x60"

#63 (2014) Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 48"x60"

#55 (2014) Acrylic on Canvas, 12"x12"

#55 (2014) Acrylic on Canvas, 12"x12"

#57 (2014) Acrylic on Panel, 12"x12"

#57 (2014) Acrylic on Panel, 12"x12"


Added on by Cole Pierce.

Cole Pierce: Phase Transition
February 6, 2015 - February 26, 2015
Roman Susan 
1224 W. Loyola Ave | Chicago, IL 60626 

Reception: Friday, February 6 // 6 PM
Gallery Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 3-6 PM and Saturday 12-3 PM

Phase Transition is an installation of recent paintings and a wall mural from Pierce’s geometric abstraction series. In his work, he employs multiple layers of vivid optical rhythms, and purposely counters the rational pattern with unpredictable variations. 

#63 (2014) Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 48"x60"

#63 (2014) Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 48"x60"

Pierce received an MFA in Art Theory & Practice from Northwestern University in 2007. His work has been reviewed in Modern Painters Magazine, Visual Art Source, and Papercut Magazine. He recently had a solo show at Butler University and participated in group shows at CAM Raleigh, Johalla Projects, and Nebraska Wesleyan University. His first large scale mural was completed in September 2014 for Hoop Dreams, a charity basketball tournament by Empty Bottle Presents.

I painted a basketball court!

Added on by Cole Pierce.

Empty Bottle held a charity basketball tournament for Ceasefire, and I painted the court and two murals.  Check out Empty Bottle's blog for a recap of the event: Link

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Press: Visual Art Source

Added on by Cole Pierce.

Visual Art Source: Editors Pick


Cole Pierce, "Triangle is the Strongest Shape #37," 2013, oil and acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20"


It’s not that easy to put together a compelling group show of geometric abstraction, not for lack of contemporary engagement with the genre (it certainly has no shortage of practitioners), but because innovative, novel approaches to the dialogue are hard to come by. In “Measurable Inconsistencies,” however, Richard Blackwell, Cole Pierce, and Zin Helena Song, brought together by curator Tyler Blackwell, provide abstractions that deviate from the well-worn course with smart, playful uses of space, perception and texture.

Continuing through August 31, 2014


In works like Chicago-based Pierce’s "Triangle is the Strongest Shape #23," what initially appears to be flat, uniform patterning is upon closer viewing a shallow but dimensional relief of deep brush strokes and rigid taped off edges. In four sculptures by New York artist Song, the use of painted corners and actual ones confuse the eye. As the viewer moves around the pieces, you are never able to see all the planes from any one angle. Blackwell contributes an installation. A framed print of a geometric form is covered in a geometric pattern and hung on a geometrically patterned, screen printed wall. This produces commingling notions of fore- and background that exudes an exuberance of form and repetition.

- See more at: http://www.visualartsource.com/index.php?page=editorial&pcID=17&aID=2369#sthash.Am9bfRU4.dpuf

Exhibition Anouncement

Added on by Cole Pierce.

 

 

MEASURABLE INCONSISTENCIESA GROUP EXHIBITION

JULY 25 — AUGUST 31, 2014

Opening Reception: Friday, July 25 from 7-10pm
By Appointment Only

Johalla Projects is very pleased to announce MEASURABLE INCONSISTENCIES, a summer group exhibition bringing together the artwork of three artists who work directly with shape, form, and structure. The exhibition will run from JULY 25 to AUGUST 31, 2014. An opening reception will be held on Friday, July 25 from 7-10pm.

At a primary level, Richard BlackwellCole Pierce, and Zin Helena Song each employ the geometric shape, using its formal qualities to inform and populate their works. More interesting, however, is the true nature of these artists’ practices, which function further to create breaks in the rigid structure, to create new interactions, or to disassemble the form entirely. Color also plays a vital role in this assemblage of works and operates chiefly as a catalyst for vivid optical rhythms and compositional choices.

Here, MEASURABLE INCONSISTENCIES explores these departures from pure form and instead inspects more subversive takes on geometric abstraction. By strategically incorporating unpredictable variations in the compositional framework of their respective works, Blackwell, Pierce, and Song arrive at a more engaging formula that encourages rigorous interactivity.

MEASURABLE INCONSISTENCIES is curated by Tyler Blackwell.

LVL3 Artist of the Week

Added on by Cole Pierce.

LVL3 Artist of the Week Interview

 

 

Cole Pierce lives and works in Chicago. He earned an MFA in Art Theory and Practice from Northwestern University, a Post-Baccalaureate in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a BA in Art and a BA Sociology from Cornell College. He recently had a solo show at Butler University, was in a group show at CAM Raleigh, has been in numerous exhibitions in and around Chicago and also as far as Cairo, Egypt and Sarajevo, Bosnia.  Modern Painters Magazine reviewed his work in 2012 and he has been featured in many online publications including Papercut Magazine, Disquiet, Art Social, and Sixty Inches from the Center.  He is a co-author of Field Mic, a sound art and music blog and is a contributor to NUMBERS.FM, an experimental music radio station.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

I grew up in Iowa and moved to Chicago shortly after college, where I lived in a house full of art students and transients before going to graduate school.  Back then my practice included anything and everything, and in grad school I narrowed it down to painting, found object installation, and video.  I was interested in finding and making a quiet flickering moment that I equated to everyday epiphanies.  I graduated in 2007 from NU and for a couple years I was in brainstorming mode, inventing systems to make abstract paintings and making analog glitch videos. My current project, the Triangle is the Strongest Shape, came out of that brainstorming period. This series started in 2008 but I was also working on 2 or 3 other projects at the same time. In 2011 I decided to dedicate my studio to the Triangle series because I realized that all of the issues I was interested in could be found in these paintings of skewed triangle grids. I was, and still am fascinated with the visceral effect of Op Art and it being an example of a limit of cognition. By the time I was technically able to achieve a mind-blowing optical effect, I became more interested in the imperfections and started to add elements that detracted from the strong optics. I wanted to focus on the phase transition into the optical effect, which I am still working on today.  

What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on?

I am currently working on a set of three paintings, a kind of subset of the series, each sized 48”x 60” in mostly black to white gradients.  They will be #44, #45 and #46 of the series, and they are the first paintings I’ve made where there are multiple layers of gradients over the masked off triangle grid.  

I also have an ongoing side project where I make an edition of audio multiples about once a year.  It is essentially an intricate mix CD of ambient, electronic and found sounds that I distribute to a mailing list and share on the internet.  I sent out the last edition in March of 2014, and this summer I will start collecting songs that will determine the theme for the next edition.

What are you currently watching on Netflix/what’s on your Netflix queue?

I don’t know about Netflix but the new Fargo series on FX is fun to watch. Some of the intros are long, one-take scenes like Gus Van Zant or Bela Tarr, minimal and sinister.  

What is one of the bigger challenges you and/or other artists are struggling with these days and how do you see it developing?

The biggest challenge is making a decent living.  There are plenty of opportunities to exhibit in Chicago and the arts community here is strong but the market is not so supportive.  There are a handful of success stories, but most artists I know have day jobs and are now starting families. My kids were both born when I was in grad school so I’ve had time to find a balance between work/art making/parenting.  It is still a struggle, especially on beautiful days when I’d rather be at the beach with my kids than working in the studio.  

What materials do you use in your work and what is your process like?

My process is formulaic and I make gradual changes over time. I keep a notebook with rough sketches and ideas to try.  I’ll make 3 or 4 paintings with similar color and compositions before moving on to the next idea. I start with a layer of acrylic, which I cover in a pattern of triangles that I have cut out of painters tape. This is the time consuming part where I slowly build the structure and decide how many glitches will disrupt the pattern.  After the tape is sealed I’ll use oils to paint a gradient or a fluid abstraction.  The final product is revealed when I peel off the tape.   

What artists are you interested in right now?

Tauba Auerbach and her instagram feed, Jessica Eaton, Anoka Faruqee, Russell Tyler, and Jeremy DePrez to name a few.  I’ve unintentionally become a heavy tumblr user, and will frequently post artwork I find on the internet.  So you could say I’m interested in a gazillion artists right now but I don’t know if they really count because I’ve only seen their work on a bright digital screen. I try to reserve judgement until I’ve seen it for real.

How has your work developed within the past year?

Last winter I decided to complicate the paintings further by adding a layer of smaller triangles, which is the beginning of the Sierpinski fractal pattern. This made the pattern more detailed and it also gave me an extra layer to play with, so I could combine various gradient compositions.   Last fall I was experimenting with vibrant color combinations, which I was happy with, but when I changed up the composition I decided to return to black and white in order to  focus on what the new structure was doing.  I have one more painting to make in this black and white mode and then I’ll decide how to bring more vibrant colors into the mix.

What are you really excited about right now?

Biking 20 miles a day on my commute to work now that the weather is nice and Chicago is beautiful once again.

Listening to audiobooks in the studio. I just finished the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons, an epic sci fi space drama. Another of my recent favorites is 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami.  The process of taping off the canvas is quite time consuming so I just settle in and put on an audio book.

Any current or upcoming shows we should know about (that we can include in our LVL3 Media calendar)?
I’m in a group show at Johalla Projects that opens July 28th. Josue Pellot and I are working on a collaborative piece for a show at Roman Susan on October 10th. I also have work in a massive group show in October at Elder Gallery in LIncoln, NE.

What are you listening to right now?

Future Islands, Deru, Ray Charles, Colin Vallon Trio, Man Forever & So Percussion, anything that comes out on 12k, and the Lee Scratch Perry Pandora station.

Indiana University Northwest

Added on by Cole Pierce.

Triangle is the Strongest Shape #30, 2013
40"x40" Oil and Acrylic on Canvas

Installation View at Indiana University Northwest

Pinpoint

Added on by Cole Pierce.


August 26 - September 20, 2013
Pinpoint: An Exhibition of Emerging Artists 

CLOSING RECEPTION: September 17 from 4 - 6 pm

Jennifer Hines 
Brent Houston 
Morgan Sims 
Cole Pierce 
Raul Mendez

Curated by Holly Sabin Houston 

Gallery for Contemporary Art 
Indiana University Northwest
Savannah Center
3400 Broadway
Gary, Indiana 46408

Gallery Hours: Monday & Thursday 9 am - 5 pm, Tuesday & Wednesday 9 am - 7 pm, Friday 9 am - 3 pm

219-980-6891
www.iun.edu/art-gallery
facebook event page

ASCII 4

Added on by Cole Pierce.


ASCII 4
A single-evening exposition of artifacts, recordings & mixes, fine apparel and elegant conduct.

Friday, May 10
7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Elastic Arts Foundation
2830 N. Milwaukee Ave.

Participating:
Andrea Jablonski. Bruce Neal. Chris Hefner. Cole Pierce. Cinchel (Jason Shanley). EC Brown. George John Larson. Jake Myers. Jon Bollo. Michelle Harris. Pleasant Group (Erik Wenzel). Stephanie Burke+Jeriah Hildwine+Ryan Peter Miller.

ASCII (Archeospiritist Study and Consortion Initiative, Illinois) is an event where participants are entrusted to uphold the following principal specifications: 

  1. An edition of artifacts shall be created, to be distributed freely.
  2. Artifacts shall commit an arrangement of recordings.
  3. Participants shall proclaim their own specifications, to enrich the ASCII specification body.
  4. Attire shall always be elegant. 
Moreover, there are candidate specifications, including the following:

    ...Participants shall consummate their edition with a 10-minute reverie during the ASCII event...

Consequently, a/v escapades, both live and pre-recorded, begin at 7:30 p.m.

More information: http://www.archeospiritist.com

Prints for Sale!

Added on by Cole Pierce.


Silk-screen print on 90 lb Stonehenge paper, pictured here cropped to 7.5"x9". The size of each print slightly varies in between 9.5"x9.5" and 10"x10".
Edition of 4.
$150

Printed in conjunction with LAKE ODESSA, a sound installation / mix CD exhibition at CAM Raleigh, January 2012.

Originally designed with by Cole Pierce, based on a collage by Able Parris and typography by Paul Soulellis.



Lake Odessa

Added on by Cole Pierce.


























LAKE ODESSA (2012) audio multiple, silk-screen print on 90lb cotton paper,
handmade cases, found paper inserts, edition of 100. Print originally designed with Mixel by Cole Pierce, based on collages by Able Parris and Paul Soulellis.

Listen to the mix on Headphone Commute.
I will gladly send you CD if paypal me the price of postage. 
Question? cole@colepierce.com


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