Its the fire that holds our attention
Its not if you see color, its how you treat color
Armoring the mind
“Be a fireman, we live in the heat, we train in the heat! We control the heat!!”
1 for Mayhem 2 for Mischief
Sensory information from the world
For there’s a Will there’s a Way!
A breeze filled with determination wafted towards us
It has to rain before you can see where all the leaks are at
The fate of the animals
Graceful Strut
An activity of the spirit
A tear in the static of everyday life
You wouldn’t expect something so transparent to block the heat so well
Allegory of the cave theory
As if you’ve swallowed the sun and moon
Psychological acceleration
Greene Naftali is pleased to present Walter Price’s debut solo exhibition with the gallery, Pearl Lines, which brings together bodies of work from the past three years. Price's paintings and drawings tread the line between figuration and abstraction, grounded in a visual vocabulary informed by both personal and shared experience. Fusing a wide range of references that simultaneously signal individual identities and trans-cultural realities of the human condition, as well as a deep understanding of Art’s history, Price’s work presents an intense investigation of the limits and possibilities of (visual) knowledge. Partially realized objects and figures emerge from bustling negative space and bisecting planes of color, playing with specificity and narrative. A freedom of materials echoes this synthesis of the familiar and the out-of-place, while a continuously shifting gaze, with untold agents and objects, pressures the act of looking. Formal and figurative elements vie for one’s attention; a viewing experience that oscillates between recognition and confusion, knowing and not-knowing.
The title Pearl Lines celebrates drawing as the foundation of Price’s practice. “Pearl” offers beauty, but, here, beauty is rooted in the word itself, in language and utterance, activity and repetition, not in the object to which it may refer. “Everything starts with a line,” Price says. His command of and experimentation with line and composition are seen across the works on view in two galleries dedicated to drawings. Price expands the mark-making possibilities of colored pencil, graphite, marker, and oil pastel in constantly varying gestures paired with collage––pages from books and magazines, torn pieces of paper, packing tape, commercial stickers––and appropriated printmaking methods. The fluidity and freedom Price practices in his drawings are the premise for his approach to painting, a selection of which are on view in the main gallery space.
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price
A breeze filled with determination wafted towards us, 2018
Acrylic and flashe on canvas
78 1/2 x 133 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches (199.4 x 339.1 x 3.2 cm)
Walter Price
1 for Mayhem 2 for Mischief, 2020
Acrylic on wood
32 x 47 inches (81.3 x 119.4 cm)
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price
Graceful Strut, 2019
Acrylic and flashe on canvas
80 x 81 x 1 1/2 inches (203.2 x 205.7 x 3.8 cm)
Walter Price
Its not if you see color, its how you treat color, 2019
Acrylic, gesso, and flashe on canvas
73 x 78 1/2 inches (185.4 x 199.4 cm)
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price
An activity of the spirit, 2018-19
Acrylic on wood
18 x 24 x 1 inches (45.7 x 61 x 2.5 cm)
Walter Price
A tear in the static of everyday life, 2019
Acrylic and encaustic on wood
18 x 24 x 1 inches (45.7 x 61 x 2.5 cm)
Walter Price
Armoring the mind, 2020
Acrylic on wood
8 x 6 inches (20.3 x 15.2 cm)
Walter Price
Allegory of the cave theory, 2019-20
Acrylic, graphite, photo collage, gesso, pva adhesive on wood
18 x 24 x 1 inches (45.7 x 61 x 2.5 cm)
Walter Price
You wouldn’t expect something so transparent to block the heat so well, 2018
Acrylic and glitter on canvas
86 1/4 x 79 x 1 1/4 inches (219.1 x 200.7 x 3.2 cm)
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price
As if you’ve swallowed the sun and moon, 2018
Acrylic and glitter on canvas
88 1/2 x 67 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches (224.8 x 171.5 x 3.2 cm)
Walter Price
Psychological acceleration, 2018
Acrylic and flashe on canvas
79 1/4 x 103 3/4 x 1 1/4 inches (201.3 x 263.5 x 3.2 cm)
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price
For there’s a Will there’s a Way!, 2017
Acrylic on wood
16 x 20 x 1 inches (40.6 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm)
Walter Price
Sensory information from the world, 2019
Acrylic, glitter, and clear gesso on canvas
30 x 30 x 1 1/2 inches (76.2 x 76.2 x 3.8 cm)
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price
“Be a fireman, we live in the heat, we train in the heat! We control the heat!!”, 2018
Acrylic, staples, and masking tape on wood
16 x 20 x 1 inches (40.6 x 50.8 x 2.5 cm)
Walter Price
It has to rain before you can see where all the leaks are at, 2019
Acrylic and vinyl on wood
24 x 36 x 2 inches (61 x 91.4 x 5.1 cm)
Walter Price
The fate of the animals, 2019
Acrylic on wood
18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 61 cm)
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price
Its the fire that holds our attention, 2018
Acrylic, flashe, and glitter on canvas
67 1/2 x 64 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches (171.5 x 163.8 x 3.2 cm)
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020
Walter Price, Installation view, Pearl Lines, Greene Naftali, New York, 2020