Dale Henry at Jones Day

Clocktower Productions presents the third and final installment of Dale Henry: The Artist Who Left New York, a critically-acclaimed retrospective of painting, sculptural works and writing by Dale Henry. Premiered at the legendary Clocktower Gallery in 2013, the exhibition traveled to Pioneer Works Center for Art and Innovation in Red Hook, Brooklyn, in Spring 2014. The selection on view examines pivotal works in the artist’s career as a painter.

Works are on view in the lobby of the Jones Day Building at 222 E. 41st St. in Manhattan, New York. Visiting hours are 9:00am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday, and by appointment via info@clocktower.org.

Body of Work (1976)
This series of flesh-colored paintings is a literal interpretation of the term ‘body of work.’ In the middle of the canvases, Henry has re-drawn, in resin, selections from his own earlier work in the Singular Paintings series. He included snapshots of the original work to be displayed on the wall in the same configuration as the paintings. This series brings the conceptual and material qualities of the work into equal consideration. The titles of each work correspond to the year in which the original work in the resin image was made.

Wet Grounds (1971)
Henry used a combination of linen, emulsion, gesso, acrylic, and resin to create subtle textures and reflections that change depending on the light in the room and position of the viewer. The artist compared the three qualities of light –its absorbance, reflectance and transmittance– to the grammatical tenses of past, present, and future. The use of transparent materials creates a ‘wetness’ on the canvas, and places the canvas and media on equal visual footing. The pieces can withstand long periods of outdoor exposure, and Henry encouraged them to be displayed on the floor and ceiling as well as the walls, and if possible, outside.

Gazebo (circa 1965)
Completed in San Francisco after Henry had returned from several influential trips to New York, these works demonstrate a break from his painting style of the 50s. Along with four other series that comprise what Henry referred to as the 'Five Groups," the Gazebo paintings are among Henry's first works in series. The works show an emergence of a quiet minimalist sensibility and concern with the grid that nevertheless retains a soft connection to elements at the edge of representation such as landscape and time.

The exhibition is curated by Tim Goossens and Beatrice Johnson for Clocktower Productions.

Dale Henry: The Artist Who Left New York

The Clocktower Gallery presents Dale Henry: The Artist Who Left New York, an exhibition of painting, sculptural works and writing by Dale Henry, exhibited in the historic galleries of the Clocktower. The exhibition presents bodies of work not seen since the 1970’s, and in many cases, never shown. Henry was a productive and respected figure in New York from the mid 1960’s to late 1970’s. His works were shown in leading institutions including the Clocktower Gallery and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, and his gallerist, John Weber, was highly regarded, championing artists including Sol Lewitt, Hans Haacke, Dorothea Rockburne, Mario Merz, Daniel Buren, and Alice Aycock. Henry worked primarily with paint, resin, glass and wood, creating diverse and challenging post-minimalist and conceptual works that not only embodied key artistic concerns of the period, but were often ahead of their time. Henry’s works were mostly conceived as parts of a cohesive series and installed site-specifically, while exploring, experimenting with, and deconstructing medium and light. Henry wrote extensively about his inspiration from Western painting and history, and his work’s resulting conceptual basis.

Andrew Mount, In & Around Dale Henry

Artist, archivist and art historian Andrew Mount lectures on the art traditions that produced and motivated Dale Henry, whose work is on view at Pioneer Works through March 30th, Thursday-Sunday, noon-6pm. Beginning with Hans Holbein's anamorphosis in The Ambassadors and leading into a contrasting example of Rob Ryman's pragmatic minimalism, Mount brings an academic and insightful perspective on Henry's enigmatic work. Born in Liverpool, UK, Mount graduated with a BA (Hons) in Painting from the University of Reading. He completed a MFA in Combined Media at Hunter College, NY as well as a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies at Teacher’s College, Columbia University. He is the co-founder of FLUX Digital Arts Space and has worked as the Director of ThINC Gallery, Syracuse, NY and Dowd Fine Arts Gallery, SUNY Cortland, NY. Mount has acted as the Director of Research and Archives for both the 2013 and 2014 exhibitions of Dale Henry: The Artist Who Left New York.

Dale Henry: The Artist Who Left New York at Pioneer Works

The Clocktower Gallery and Pioneer Works, Center for Art and Innovation present Dale Henry: The Artist Who Left New York, an exhibition of painting, sculptural works and writing by Dale Henry opening Saturday, January 18th, 2014 and running into March. EXTENDED to March 30, 2014. First presented in fall 2013 at the historic Clocktower Gallery, the exhibition marks the Clocktower's exit from its historic Lower Manhattan building, where the institution was founded in 1972. This second incarnation celebrates the Clocktower's arrival at Pioneer Works as an institutional resident. Presented in the Red Hook space’s vast brick and timber galleries, the show includes works installed at the Clocktower as well as new pieces not seen since the 1970’s, and in several cases, never shown.