Chris Domenick:
Song-shaped Sill

River Valley Arts Collective is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Chris Domenick titled Song-shaped Sill, in which the artist explores the utilitarian objects around which a painted gesture is made—the frame, the easel, the printer’s matrix—directing the viewer’s attention to the decisions and labor involved in artistic production. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Al Held Foundation in Boiceville, NY.

The title of the exhibition, Song-shaped Sill, references the unique architecture of the space within which the exhibition takes place—a barn built around 1940 that also served as Held’s drawing studio. Song-shaped Sill, as a group of art works and in concept, surmises the points of connection between the installation site and the use of linguistic play—embracing an idiosyncratic riffling of vernacular references that is typical of Domenick’s work.

A large floor sculpture, Red Ledge, is made with a storm-felled hemlock that the artist had milled and takes the form, but not function, of a painter’s easel—a ubiquitous accoutrement of the painter’s studio. The portability of easels alludes to the advent of plein air painting in the 19th century following the invention in 1841 of oil paint that could be transported in tubes, not coincidentally, a development that followed the rise of mass industrialization and mechanized production practices.

In contrast to the specificity of Red Ledge, a second sculpture, titled song-shaped sill, lies horizontal on the ground, a curved wood slab incised with carved notches and overlaid with shapes in veneered wood. Niched into the corner of a column, the work at once acknowledges the dynamic of the architecture, yet is irreverent to its logic.

On first glance, a suite of wall-based works conveys the flat formalism of 20th century painting, however, closer inspection reveals an assemblage of layered materials (monoprints, folded paper, leather, painted wood, polymer clay). Domenick’s wood frames physically co-mingle with the images within them, creating the impression of a painting seen from the inside-out; inverting the idea that it is like a window to another place. His (song-shaped) Sill is an ode to the window’s edge and workmanship of the window, or painting, itself.

Domenick, who is self-trained as a woodworker, offers cues to “quality” craftsmanship—such as certain joinery techniques or the lack of visible screws—only to undermine these concepts by leaving edges unhewn or presented backwards. At other times, frames’ edges evoke organic forms, adding a decorative flair to the structural framework of painting. The trim’s linework subtly nods to the early 20th century Arts and Crafts movement which instigated a critique of industrial labor and advocated for legal reform to support craftspeople. Domenick cites the social and aesthetic ethos of Arts and Crafts as an influence, while also questioning presumed hierarchies. He stated in 2018, “I’m presenting a very known convention that is quietly rejecting its own identity.”

Chris Domenick (b. 1982, Philadelphia) received an MFA from Hunter College and has participated in residencies including The Shandaken Project, The Sharpe-Walentas Space Program, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and Recess Activities, among others. Recent projects include Flat Moon at Kate Werble Gallery, New York; Plumb at Motel, Brooklyn; The Porch The Open at 14a, Hamburg; Your Shell Is In the Unending (in collaboration with Em Rooney) at The Beeler Gallery, Columbus, OH; Particulate Paper Records of Time in Cabinet Magazine; and 5O DAYS at MASSMoCA. He has been included in exhibitions at Canada Gallery, The Queens Museum, Skibum MacArthur, The Vanity East, MOMA, Essex Flowers, Situations, Regina Rex, and Room East, among others. He currently co-curates the project space GERTRUDE in Stockbridge, MA with Em Rooney.

River Valley Arts Collective was founded by Alyson Baker in January of 2019 and is currently presenting itinerant programming in the Hudson Valley while working to secure and equip a permanent location. As goals are fully realized in the coming years, it will provide artists with the resources to create and present their work and host programs that connect and foster the creative community of our region. Central to River Valley Arts Collective will be an exhibition venue alongside three expansive communal studio spaces outfitted with tools and equipment for work in fiber, wood and clay, available to artists of the Hudson Valley and artists who are participating in area residencies.

The Al Held Foundation is charged with the stewardship of Al Held’s art and creative legacy. The Foundation’s mission is to foster the appreciation and advancement of the principles of modern art and the public’s understanding of Held’s contribution to art of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In the last decade the Foundation has facilitated the organization of exhibitions, lent works of art, promoted scholarly research, and conducted educational programs in the United States and abroad. The Foundation is represented by White Cube.

River Valley Arts Collective is grateful for generous support from: Mara Held, Daniel Belasco and The Al Held Foundation, Athena Foundation, Mark Dion, Kristen Dodge, Essex County Community Foundation, John B. Koegel, Esq., The New York Foundation for the Arts, The O’Grady Foundation, Robin Panovka, Clay Rockefeller, Rydingsvard Greengard Foundation, Richard Salomon Family Foundation, and The Lenore G. Tawney Foundation.

Chris Domenick: Song-shaped Sill is curated by Candice Madey. For more information, please contact info@RVACollective.org.

This exhibition is on view at the Al Held Foundation in Boiceville, NY. The Foundation is not open to the public, however, guided private tours of the exhibition are available on a limited basis, by appointment only. Please SCHEDULE HERE or contact info@RVACollective.org for more information about reserving a tour.

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