MALONEY FINE ART : George Stoll 'prime numbers and catenary curves' November 5

George Stoll

Cantenary Curves

According to the artist, “From the invention of zero 2,500 years ago in India to the use of the Golden Section in classical architecture, the world of mathematics fascinates me even if I’m no more than a tourist. Yet despite my rudimentary understanding of math and geometry, the abstract possibilities intrigue me because its patterns are so often surprising and elegant. Catenary curves have occurred in my work by default or design for years. They show up in the Mother’s Day Pearls and aluminum foil Christmas garland sculptures. They are also the source material for many of my Tupperware pieces. “

The sculptures in the show are hung 1 1/8 inches away from the wall on steel pins and are created with materials usually used for making jewelry. These include beading wire, silver rings and glass beads. The artist selected beads from Czechoslovakia, Ghana, China and Japan because of their inherent paint-like quality. They are arranged in groups by color of equal lengths within each piece. These lines add up to prime numbers. A prime number is a number that can only be divided by 1 and itself (i.e., 2, 3, 5, 7, 13, etc.) For example, one of them consists of 11 overlapping curves, and each of the 11 sections is of equal lengths of 11 colors. Stoll employed the lengths of color to reveal the patterns and utilized gravity as a partner and guide.

A recipient of the Rome Prize, George Stoll's work has been exhibited extensively and he has had numerous solo exhibitions, including Baldwin Gallery, Aspen; Maloney Fine Art, Los Angeles; Grant Selwyn Fine Art, New York; Gallery Seomi, Seoul; Windows Gallery, Brussels; Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Boston; and The Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati.

Stoll’s works have appeared in group exhibitions internationally, including Cheim & Read, New York; American Academy in Rome, Biagiotti Progetto Arte, Florence; Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg/Paris; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and The Drawing Center, New York.

Public collections include La Colección Jumex, Mexico City; Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles; San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art; Museum of Contemporary Art Seattle; the Norton Family Collection as well as other institutions.