David Richard Contemporary is pleased to present Line, Curve, Form, an exhibition of paintings and wall sculptures by Simon Aldridge, Alex Couwenberg, Mark Emerson, Julie Karabenick, Scott Malbaurn and Richard Roth. These artists create optically active abstractions in two and three-dimensions through the use of lines, curves and forms juxtaposed with color combinations so vibrant that they appear to vibrate.

Three of the artists feature works that are more object-like, doubling as paintings and wall sculptures. Aldridge generates illusionary effects with three-dimensional wall sculptures that range from modernistic undulations to minimalistic boxes of wood and glass in which orbs of color seem to float. In a similar vein, Roth paints perfectly flat, hard-edge compositions on hand-made wooden boxes that deceive the eye and beg to be viewed from multiple angles to confirm the optical effects. Malbaurn employs a hard-edge style of painting with reductive compositions that create minimalistic, object-like paintings.

The other three artists create their illusions through unique applications of paint. Couwenberg plays with familiar curvilinear shapes, color and texture to create deeply layered forms often asymmetrically situated in an expanse of negative space. Emerson’s paintings create powerful vibrations by combining strategically situated colors in layered geometric patterns that jump out of their two-dimensional plane. Karabenick produces paintings based on the square with crisp edges, pristine surfaces and color combinations that create a pulsing sensation.

Aldridge has exhibited in over 35 group and solo exhibitions in New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, including P.S.1 MoMA Contemporary Art Center. He is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Grant and New York Foundation for the Arts Grant. Couwenberg’s work has been included in the permanent collections of the Laguna Art Museum, the Montgomery Gallery/Pomona College Museum of Art and the traveling exhibition, “Out of Line,” featuring non-objective work from Southern California. He is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award. Emerson lives, works and teaches in California and has exhibited in numerous exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento. His work can be found in the permanent collection of the Crocker Art Museum. Karabenick has exhibited in 26 group and solo exhibitions since 2000 in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Ann Arbor. She writes extensively for Geoform, an on-line scholarly curatorial project of which she is the founder and editor. Malbaurn lives and works in New York and has exhibited his work in over 36 group and solo shows in New York, London, Miami and Baltimore. Roth has exhibited his work in dozens of national and international exhibitions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. He has co-edited and co-authored books on art and design and is currently on the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University.