David Hall

PEINTURES RÉCENTES
01.16–02.09.1997

The paintings I am presenting in this exhibition come from a series of earlier works. They were created by modifying some of my older paintings, sanding and rubbing their surfaces until only traces of the original images remained. The new composition—subsequently applied to the framework of these altered older works—took shape in response to the traces left by that process. This procedure created cracks, abrasions, and holes in the canvas surface, which were then incorporated into the subjects of the new paintings in an analogical way.

These recent compositions depict fragments of a city within a devastated landscape. A sense of deep perspective and movement is conveyed through the grids of waterways and streets that cut across the landscape; these grids suggest the remnants of a system being overtaken by decay.