Vincent Como’s show in Western Exhibitions Plus Gallery, “In Praise of Darkness”, is an exploration of physical space as it relates to two-dimensional objects and the history of painting. The show will consist of a large drawing containing copious footnotes, a small wall-hanging sculptural piece, a giant hand-bound book of drypoint prints and a series of 40 framed drawings.
Como is interested in the color black as a vehicle for “pure information” and is particularly concerned with the history and objectivity of Painting, referring often to the works of Kasimir Malevich and Ad Reinhardt. He restricts his artistic activity to a spare aesthetic to explore concepts as divergent as history, folklore or the sciences, and exposes the dialogue that occurs between the idea, physical medium and presented object. By utilizing the trope of the Painting and its surrounding lexicon, Como explores the two dimensional object and the space that it both occupies and provides in order to challenge the viewer’s understanding of the subject.
Dark Matter is the first in a series of large-scale works that reference properties of black holes, art history, theory and science through the use of accompanied footnotes. It pulls from Robert Fludd’s renaissance thoughts on primal matter as well as contemporary theories of dark energy and visible light.
4.5 Cubic Inches (Volume of the Inside of My Head) represents the physical space inside the head of the artist as a solid cube of cast black sumi ink, while Untitled (Black Book) presents a large book of black content requiring a very physical engagement with the text.
History of Painting is a series of 40 drawings of period picture frames with a unifying central black image where the portrait, landscape, or abstraction would reside in order to question the impact of contextual elements on artistic intent. The disconnect between black as pure information, a pigmented representation of some-other, or an event (such as darkness) is where these ideas meet, and where they strive to bridge those gaps in order to develop a new and comprehensive theory about the structure, function and autonomy of Black.
This is Vincent Como’s first solo show at Western Exhibitions. He will have a (semi) simultaneous show in Chicago at VONZWECK gallery, titled “Black: Theories and Ongoing Research”, that Como considers both a footnote and endnote to his show at Western Exhibitions. Como’s work has been seen at the ArtLA art fair in 2006 in a solo artist booth presented by Dogmatic and his last solo show in Chicago was in 2004 at Standard. He has been included in group shows at Barrow and Juarez Gallery in Milwaukee, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Michigan, Gallery 400 in Chicago, and in the group show “Perfect”, organized by the Chicago Cultural Center and traveled to the Illinois State Museum and the Art Museum at the University of Memphis. Como has been an artist-in-residence at Cliff Dwellers and Anchor Graphics, both in Chicago. His work has been discussed in Art Papers, the Memphis Flyer, Dialogue, New City and the Chicago Tribune. Como received his BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1998. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.