Currently on view at the historic Mad Art Gallery is the abstract, experimental work of two artists: Jacob Berkowitz and Hubert Dobler. The artists have blended their distinct styles to make up the exhibition TRACES. The two-month-long show, which closes March 19, features the large-scale abstract paintings of Berkowitz, alongside the motorcycle-inspired artwork of Dobler.
Curated by St. Louis based artist Ellie Balk, TRACES compares the similarities in both artists’ mark-making and contrasts the way in which both are created. “It was a bold choice doing all black and white,” Balk says. However, the artists managed to perfectly complement one another.
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Berkowitz, a member of St. Louis’ Screwed Arts Collective, created a 50-foot mural that spans the length of the gallery wall. Within the mural lie eight individual paintings that contribute to the entirety of the work. “I’ve always worked on both the large and small scales separately—and they are vital to each other, they inform one another, but have always been separate,” he says. “This was a chance to see what would happen when they were blended, how they inform one another in direct conversation with each other.”
In comparing his work to Dobler’s, Berkowitz says they are alike “in their experimental natures. Both of us have developed our own ways of making marks that aren’t 100 percent in our control. We know what the marks may look like, but they also may completely surprise us. We’re both constantly exploring our specific materials and making minute or major adjustments to the material or to the context or to our interaction with them to see what will change.” He adds that his approach to painting “is unforgiving. There is no correcting or erasure. In turn, there has to be total presence, confidence, and vulnerability to the material. It’s an uncomfortable and exciting space to work in—it’s a continual experiment.”
Dobler, an Austrian-born, New York-based artist, focuses on abstraction through technology. “My work uses chaos and masculine tools, such as motorcycles, chainsaws and concrete drums, recording the marks these machines generate when allowed to exist outside their traditional use,” he says. “Roaring, bucking and crashing, my machines highlight the power and energy trapped inside everyday technology. By taking apart and rearranging objects out of context, I examine the emotional and visceral ties that the viewer may experience when machines operate with unrestrained abandon.”
For TRACES, Dobler suspended a Honda CB550 motorcycle from the gallery ceiling; when activated, the rubber tires land forcefully on primed panels, making marks you’d normally only see on pavement. Part of the exhibit has included Dobler’s live motorcycle performances. “I like to turn them on and let them go, sometimes they do endless circles, on other occasions they freak out and go crazy,” he says.
The closing reception of Mad Art’s 15th anniversary exhibition, TRACES, will be held on Saturday, March 19 from 7–11 p.m. Located at 2727 South 12th Street, Mad Art Gallery is housed in a former Third District Police Station in the historic Soulard neighborhood. The event will feature two live motorcycle performances, a DJ, additional paintings, artwork for sale and a full cash bar. For more information, visit madart.com.
