4 On the Verge February 24, 2011

For Immediate Release: January 30, 2011

4 on the Verge, Curated by Daniel Weiner
February 24 – April 3, 2011
Opening reception: Thursday Feb. 24th, 2011 from 6-9 pm

The 440 Gallery presents "4 on the Verge", a special invitational show of young artists (under 35). In an effort to highlight promising talent by artists not yet represented by galleries, the members of the 440 artist collective have selected 4 artists to feature in a group exhibition from Feb. 24 – April 3.

The artists selected for the exhibition are Porter Diteman, Lisa Elmaleh, Laurie Lee-Georgescu, Cecilia Rembert.

Lisa Elmaleh, printing from Collodian (wet plate) negatives she exposed in the Everglades employing a portable darkroom, makes large scale photographs in the catacombs of the Center for Alternative Photography. The rich blacks and high overall contrast that result seem to depict the environmental urgency at the forefront of her thinking and make even a bright tropical sun ominous.

Porter Diteman, operating in quarters reminiscent of the 70's Lower East Side, cramped, smoky and multi use, produces finely modeled charcoal drawings which are dark both visually and spiritually. These nudes seem to address the link between classicism and pornography.

Laura Lee Georgescu demonstrates a remarkable facility in two modes. Her abstraction hovers near expressionism, but never quite abandons the landscape from which it is derived. While her representational works have a political edge her concern with color remains paramount.

Cecelia Rembert combines abstraction, representation and symbolism in her large scale oils which illustrate their own origins and transformation. Her permissive approach to subject matter ('I just put in everything') generates images that are complex enough spatially to accommodate her private mythologies.

Daniel Weiner, the curator for "4 on the Verge", is the Associate Director of Contemporary Art at James Graham Gallery, in New York City, and has co-curated exhibitions with artist Joe Fyfe (Color Climax, 2008) and writer/art critic and painter John Zinsser (Blue, 2009) and has made art for more than 20 years.

The opening reception is Thursday Feb. 24th, 2011 from 6-9 pm. All are welcome to join.

For further information, please contact Communications Coordinator Amy Williams at (917) 862-3898.

http://www.440gallery.com/