David Richard Gallery is please to present Isaac Aden: The Numinous Sublime, a two-part solo exhibition of his most recent monumental paintings. The exhibition features fourteen oil paintings, measuring 12 x 27 ft., 12 x 9 ft., and 14 x 6 ft. These seminal paintings are part of Aden’s series of Tonal Paintings, a body of work developed over the past eight years.  The exhibition will be presented in two parts to show the ineffable breadth of Aden’s painting practice with the first section contending with the somber reality frequently faced by the human condition and specifically recalling Rothko’s final masterpiece the Rothko Chapel. Part I will be presented July 25 through September 7, 2023, at the Gallery’s location at 526 West 26 ST, suite 209. The second part presents paintings decidedly warmer in character that trace their genealogy from Claude, European Romantic Painting, Corfield, and the Contemporary Art of today. The Part II will be presented in the same location as the first but from September 9 through October 7^, 2023.

At first glance the paintings evoke minimalism because they read as monolithic monochromes. The works call to mind gothic proportions as they engage the cathedral like architecture of the of the space. Upon closer inspection they seem to be more akin to Color field canvases with a vast array of subtle colors revealed. However, after a protracted period of viewing in person the paintings are revealed to be more of a type of Post Minimal Pointillism comprised of billions of miniscule dots of pure color floating together to create nebulous expanses. The paintings are made from formless layers of diffused gradients of pixelized colors which appear as ethereal and atmospheric canvases. Particularly because of their scale these paintings evoke the sublime.

The Sublime has long been a part of the aesthetic discourse which follows the evolution of landscape painting into pure abstraction. Early proponents of the commonly held viewpoints including Edmund Burke and Immanuel Kant were followed by twentieth century thinkers like Robert Rosenblum who applied the term to the aesthetic gains made by some of the Abstract Expressionists like Mark Rothko.  The dominant discourse on the sublime since the 18^th century has centered around the topics of awe and terror.  However there have been moments in which new ways of considering this phenomenon have developed. 

For example, the American painter Worthington Whittredge described a uniquely American sublime realized in the paintings of Asher B. Durand. This sublime was one of a raw primordial untouched forest in contrast to the industrial deforestation occurring in Europe. 

The concept of Numinous Sublime was introduced by the metaphysical theologian Rudolf Otto, he focused less on a sublime of terror and more on an uplifting one that was spiritual in nature.  Rothko’s last body of work The Rothko Chapel, consist of fourteen “Black” paintings permanently displayed in an interfaith sanctuary.  Rothko’s paintings seem to key into the Numinous Sublime, not necessarily in a religious sense, but in a wholly personal and meditative spiritual experience. Aden’s paintings address the same phenomenological and emotional experience in relation to the viewer and the sublime.  The canvases consume the periphery of the viewer, and the effect of the gradual gradient creates a boundless field.  This lack of observable form doesn’t allow the viewer to latch on to a specific signifier or object in the painting.  The result of this is to reflect the viewing back on to the audience creating a highly subjective and personal experience. 

Seeing the works in person creates the space essential to realize them and rewards the viewer. We welcome you to visit our galleries in person or to learn more about this exhibition and the other artists we represent through the many videos, writings, photographs and catalogs available on our website.