“The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious.

It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science.”

Albert Einstein

from a 1931 essay, included later in Ideas and Opinions and quoted by Eleanor Heartney in Unseen Layers catalogue.

Ronald Feldman Gallery presents a series of new science-inspired paintings by Edwin Schlossberg, marking his fifteenth solo exhibition with the gallery.  Compelled by his study of visual realms newly observed by scientists using innovative techniques and cutting-edge technology, the works expound upon a broad range of subjects: biological and cosmic processes, cellular emergence, organic composition, neural phenomenon, and many others – all united by their alive-ness.  The artist approaches life’s activities from an expansive perspective, where art, science and humanity fundamentally interconnect, and opportunities for crosspollination and renewal continually exist.

Notably, Schlossberg considers each work a type of portrait, with titles such as Portrait of Cells Dividing, Portrait of Mouse Brain, and Portrait of the Sun Shining.  At once corporeal and spiritual, the paintings are made of luminous, metallic colors with daubed or web-like compositions; the multiple paint layers applied to highly-reflective backgrounds portray structural, life-supporting (or potentially life-threatening) entities.

Schlossberg’s Making Visible will be played in the gallery’s street window.  The visionary, 26:38 minute, black and white video was commissioned by the Dilexi Foundation for public television in 1969.  The experimental work, narrated by the artist and Buckminster Fuller, is an essayistic exploration of the vast potential for electronic communication, and embodies the promise of technology facilitating human interaction and understanding.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue featuring contributors invited by Edwin Schlossberg and Lara Pan. The publication includes texts and reflections by John Alexander, Céline Fribourg, Steven Heller, Eleanor Heartney, Brett Littman, Debbie Millman, George Musser, Lara Pan, Rose Schlossberg, Sasha Stiles, Sacha Wade, and Kevin Wade, edited by Lara Pan.

Edwin Schlossberg has been represented by Ronald Feldman Gallery since 1978.  For over five decades, he has worked across conventional and unconventional media to create visual and poetic worlds that bridge language, image and perception.  His work has been exhibited widely in the United States and internationally and is included in major public and private collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art.  In 2004, he received the National Arts Club Medal of Honor, and in 2011 he was appointed by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 1-5pm (closed Saturday March 7^th and April 4^th)

For press and image inquiries, contact Cat Zhou at (212) 226-3232 or catherine@feldmangallery.com

Reception: Thursday, March 5, 6-8pm
Panel Discussion: Saturday March 28, 5pm with Edwin Schlossberg, Eleanor Heartney, and George Musser, moderated by Lara Pan