Introduction

Esther Schipper is pleased to announce an exhibition of Ceal Floyer and Karin Sander entitled Paper Work that focuses on the artists’ drawing practice.

Ceal Floyer will present a new work from her series Ink on Paper. Works in the series consist of sheets of blotting paper, each of which has a differently colored round area in its center. Generally, the number of sheets in each work is determined by the package size in which the colored pens used to create the works are habitually sold, whereas the sequence of the sheets and their installation are determined by the arrangement of the pens in their wrapping. For this new work, the artist has taken one grey-colored pen from each set, creating thirty-two sheets with circular areas in different hues and intensities. The work shows the wide spectrum even a hybrid of two non-colors (neither white nor black technically being a color) can display, while the unevenness of the ink stains draws attention to the duration of time it took to empty the pens. Since each stain was produced by a pen from a different source, the thirty-two sheets show great variety in shade, hue and liquidity, creating a surprisingly wide range within the constraints set by the artist for this work.

Karin Sander will present a series from her ongoing body of works entitled Office Works begun in 1990. Employing commonly available office supplies and their byproducts, these works create often minimal interventions on paper with rows, lines, small clusters, pairs or single staples. The use of everyday stationery items, like an A4 sheet, staples, paperclips, punched-out holes, and pencils alludes to the contemporary office environment. The series of 30 drawings from 1996 in this exhibition predominantly includes brightly colored metal tabs. Freed from their function to separate files or to bind together several sheets, they bring a strong sculptural element to these works that is further enhanced by the holes left by a puncher.

The use of materials not traditionally associated with art making and the emphasis on seriality refer to the redefinition of artistic drawing practice in Minimalism and Conceptual Art beginning in the early 1960s. But while both Floyer and Sander operate from within these legacies, their work has a playfulness and laconic wit less present in that of their artistic forebears. Masters of formal rigor and restraint, both artists often use found objects or everyday materials to create forceful interventions that can fundamentally alter our understanding of spaces and materials in often startling and eye-opening ways.

Concurrent with the exhibition an app by Karin Sander is being issued which is available from the App Store.