Valerie Jaudon
Antonym, 2008
oil on linen
72 x 72 in (182.9 x 182.9 cm)

An original member of the Pattern and Decoration group, Jaudon for the past thirty years has been part of the larger post-minimalist movement—a varied and influential collection of artists who have expanded the vocabulary of minimalism, and in doing so have pushed the boundaries of abstraction. Her new monochromatic oil paintings of white bars and bands set against a raw linen ground are structurally complex as well as referentially rich and esthetically rewarding. Bringing to mind a variety of ornamental and structural modes, from architectural patternings and ironwork to tile mosaics and textiles, her paintings are intricate and intriguing yet still declarative and straightforward.

For each painting Jaudon uses a different module composed of linear forms of equal width but varying shape and length. She repeats and mirrors that module, creating in the process compelling asymmetrical structures. Employing logic to subvert logic, Jaudon leads our eye through a thicket of maze-like forms—orderings which simultaneously sit on the point of resolution and dissolution. Jaudon’s work, as always, is crisp and cleanly executed but retains considerable evidence of the hand. Particular attention is paid to the surface. That surface is brushed and refractive, enlivening the painting and pushing against the rigor of its geometry. These new paintings, while operating within the pictorial language that she has developed over her career, open up fresh and exciting territory for the artist.

Valerie Jaudon: Paintings
March 6 - April 12
Von Lintel Gallery, New York
For more information visit: www.vonlintel.com