HALSEY MCKAY GALLERY

Halsey McKay presents Life Drawings, a selection of work on paper by artist Joseph Hart that underscores his steadfast commitment to the tenets of drawing. The exhibition features a set of colorful large-scale works balanced by a floor-to-ceiling installation of nearly 300 graphite drawings that span a 10-year period of output. Collectively, Life Drawings showcases Hart’s love of mark-making as a method for developing, unraveling, and rebuilding his visual lexicon. A public reception will be held for the artist at Halsey McKay’s new Brooklyn outpost on Tuesday, May 30, from 6-8pm.

Unique to this body of work is the (re)introduction of representational imagery into Hart’s work. A Catalpa tree that grows near the artist’s home has served as a muse over the past year. The tree’s twisting bone-like limbs, stiletto blade seed pods, oversized leaves, and powerful contours–all compromised by snagged plastic deli bags have offered a familiar armature for his abstractions: wayward gestures that jag and settle in pictorial space only to be thrown out of whack by an errant sharp shape or odd blob. The paradox in this collision of elements, in the Catalpa tree and in Hart’s artwork, embraces a wonderful sense of curiosity and abject beauty.

Towering behind the vivid Catalpa works is a tidal wave of small graphite drawings papered over the entirety of the space’s north wall. Hart typically makes 10-20 of these a day to wake up his eye, hand, and marks. He uses a thick graphite crayon—a drawing tool that discourages rendering and encourages boldness and touch. Mark, repetition, and second attempt drawings are peppered throughout the installation. In a recent interview between Hart and the artist Butt Johnson, Hart states, “I’ve always enjoyed making multiple versions of the same thing, particularly in my smaller drawings. I’m interested in what survives this process and what I can learn from it. Repeating a move connects to practicing and maintenance—the idea that I’m caring for my work and nudging it along.”

Life Drawings will be on view May 30 through June 30 at Halsey McKay’s new project space, HMGP, at 60 Greenpoint Ave, in Brooklyn, NY. A free, 28-page booklet featuring Hart’s drawings has been published in conjunction with this exhibition. Limited quantities available. Contact the gallery for more info.

Joseph Hart is a New York-based visual artist that makes drawings and paintings. He is also the founder and producer of Deep Color, the celebrated oral history project and podcast that features artists and arts professionals discussing their work, ideas, and lives. Hart’s artwork can be found in the public collections of the RISD Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Davis Museum at Wellesley College, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, Penland School of Craft and The City College of New York. Hart received a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1999. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his partner and two children.