Brent Wadden WHIMMYDOODLES On View May 13 – Jun 24, 2023 Los Angeles Exhibition Details:Brent WaddenWHIMMYDOODLESMay 13 – Jun 24, 2023Gallery:1201 South La Brea AvenueLos AngelesPress:Press ReleaseConnect:@_bbww_@pacegalleryAbove: Installation view: Brent Wadden: WHIMMYDOODLES, May 13-June 24, 2023, Pace Gallery, Los Angeles © Brent Wadden Pace is pleased to present an exhibition by artist Brent Wadden at its Los Angeles gallery from May 13 to June 24. Marking Wadden’s first-ever solo show in LA, this presentation is titled WHIMMYDOODLES in a nod to Bill Nye’s description of the overwhelming feelings that come with thinking about climate change, which he shared in a recent radio interview. The show will spotlight a new body of handwoven paintings of various sizes, including several large-scale pieces. A weaver and colorist, Wadden is known for his abstractions that unite traditions of painting, design, craft, and folk art.Mounting his handwoven textiles on canvas, the artist transposes craft techniques into the realm of painting. Through enactments of warp and weft, he embraces the variations and idiosyncrasies that emerge in his compositions. Wadden’s deliberate and labor-intensive process of repetition reveals subtle disruptions in accumulations of line, color, texture, and form in his resulting works, which might be mistaken for conventional paintings from afar.The artist often sources secondhand or found fabrics and yarns—including cotton, wool, acrylic, and hand-woven fibers—for his compositions, which he sketches in pencil before weaving. Using a backstrap and floor looms to produce his handwoven paintings, Wadden must forge these works line by line. Because this process allows for only a foot of textile to be seen at any given time, the artist does not know exactly how a final piece will look until it is released from the loom. For Wadden, this element of the unknown “is where the magic happens.”The production of Wadden’s textiles is as significant as their aesthetic content. Through his practice, he pushes back against the demands of mass mechanized production along with the deleterious effects of consumer culture and capitalist thinking. The artist’s meticulously crafted works feature a dynamic sense of motion and depth only achieved through acts of diligence and care.Wadden’s work is informed by various art historical movements, traditions, and figures. He has drawn inspiration from Abstract Expressionism and Bauhaus textiles in his investigations of geometry and color. The artist’s use of clearly defined compositional grids, which often contain rhythmic and bold diagonals, can be understood in dialogue with the work of Agnes Martin; the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama; Frank Stella; and Anni Albers. Through his engagement with these influences, Wadden has nurtured a practice that collapses hierarchies and binaries of media and discipline. Read More Featured Works Brent Wadden, Untitled, 2022, Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas, 190 cm × 158 cm (74-13/16" × 62-3/16") Learn More Close modal Brent Wadden Untitled 2022 Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas 190 cm × 158 cm (74-13/16" × 62-3/16") Inquire How can we reach you? First Name* Last Name* Email* Phone Inquiry Message Have you purchased from Pace before?* Yes No Submit Inquiry Or go back Brent Wadden, Untitled, 2023, Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas, 262 cm × 93 cm (8' 7-1/8" × 36-5/8") Learn More Close modal Brent Wadden Untitled 2023 Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas 262 cm × 93 cm (8' 7-1/8" × 36-5/8") Inquire How can we reach you? First Name* Last Name* Email* Phone Inquiry Message Have you purchased from Pace before?* Yes No Submit Inquiry Or go back Brent Wadden, Untitled, 2023, Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas, In two parts, each: 190 x 164 cm (75 x 65 x 2 in) Overall: 190 x 318 cm (75 x 129 in) Learn More Close modal Brent Wadden Untitled 2023 Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas In two parts, each: 190 x 164 cm (75 x 65 x 2 in) Overall: 190 x 318 cm (75 x 129 in) Inquire How can we reach you? First Name* Last Name* Email* Phone Inquiry Message Have you purchased from Pace before?* Yes No Submit Inquiry Or go back Brent Wadden, Untitled, 2022, Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas, 177 cm × 162 cm (69-11/16" × 63-3/4") Learn More Close modal Brent Wadden Untitled 2022 Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas 177 cm × 162 cm (69-11/16" × 63-3/4") Inquire How can we reach you? First Name* Last Name* Email* Phone Inquiry Message Have you purchased from Pace before?* Yes No Submit Inquiry Or go back Brent Wadden, Untitled, 2023, Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas, 128 cm × 128 cm (50-3/8" × 50-3/8") Learn More Close modal Brent Wadden Untitled 2023 Hand woven fibers, wool, cotton and acrylic on canvas 128 cm × 128 cm (50-3/8" × 50-3/8") Inquire How can we reach you? First Name* Last Name* Email* Phone Inquiry Message Have you purchased from Pace before?* Yes No Submit Inquiry Or go back Installation Views 1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8 8/8 Carousel slide 0 Carousel slide 1 Carousel slide 2 Carousel slide 3 Carousel slide 4 Carousel slide 5 Carousel slide 6 Carousel slide 7 About the ArtistBrent Wadden produces abstract woven works that bring together traditions of painting, design, craft, and folk art. Although Wadden’s early drawings and paintings developed through academic training, he largely taught himself weaving, which would become the central focus of his artistic output. The geometric patterns of his compositions evoke the art-historical influences of abstraction, the Bauhaus, and process art, most notably drawing from the quilts of Gee’s Bend, pictorial weaving by Anni Albers, and Agnes Martin’s gridded paintings.Learn More Journal View All News Arlene Shechet Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters May 24, 2023 News Thank You for Supporting Our Nina Simone Childhood Home Benefit Gala & Auction May 24, 2023 Essays Brent Wadden on Embracing the Unknown in His Handwoven Paintings May 18, 2023 Films JR Studio: Women are Heroes, Providencia May 16, 2023 Overview Featured Works Installation Views About the Artist Journal