Independent

Stephen Friedman Gallery presents two solo exhibitions by American artist Pam Glick for Independent and Frieze New York. The presentations, which will take place one week apart in New York, are both curated by Matthew Higgs, Founding Curatorial Advisor of Independent and Director of White Columns, New York.

Formal play typifies Glick’s practice; her paintings juxtapose repeated segments of line with gestural marks. Both experimental and complex, Glick’s style demonstrates her continued interest in the universal language of abstraction. The artist uses calligraphic pencil marks to disrupt the paint, contrasting with the structured grid of the canvas. Layers of mark-making lend a cartographical aspect. Speaking of her painting process, Glick says, “I think of it as a playground that I set up.”

An overview of Glick’s recent practice is exhibited for Independent. The artist organises the sections in her paintings to possess rhythm, creating a visual contrast between movement and stillness. A significant motif reflecting this is what Glick refers to as a ‘zip’. The artist is drawn to edges and explores the ways in which space is divided and contained. This is conveyed in how Glick incorporates strong, centralised and vertical lines among free-flowing forms, creating a physical viewing experience. 

Glick, whose studio is located close to Niagara Falls, refers to the ubiquitous connection between water and abstraction; “Every abstract painting looks like some sort of depiction of water falling.” The artist’s paintings pull between straight line and expressive curve as she reflects water’s unruly nature within the canvas.

Alongside Niagara Falls, Glick also cites Diego Velázquez's ‘Las Meninas’ as a source of inspiration. The dresses worn by subjects in Velázquez's painting depict flatness and falling in a similar manner to the flow of a waterfall. Despite the simplified forms within her works, Glick’s compositions are free yet detailed, and possess a depth which is seemingly psychological.

Born in Albany, Georgia in 1956, Glick studied Painting at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1980, where she was a recipient of the Florence Leif Award, and received her MFA from the University of Buffalo in 2019. Glick’s paintings were widely exhibited during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably with solo shows at White Columns, Wolff Gallery and Hirschl and Adler in New York, a solo show at Michael Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles and group exhibitions at Pat Hearn Gallery and the Drawing Center in New York. In 1981 Glick was included in the ‘Western New York’ exhibition at Buffalo AKG Museum (formerly Albright-Knox Art Gallery).

In 1995, Glick moved to Vermont. During this time, her practice predominately centred around collage and works on paper. Since relocating back to Buffalo in 2016, the artist has had solo exhibitions at White Columns and Journal Gallery in New York and BT&C Gallery, Buffalo, New York. Glick was also included in the the Hallwalls survey exhibition ‘Amid/In Western New York’ in 2015 and, in 2019, had a two-part solo exhibition at UB Anderson Gallery and UB CFA Gallery at the University of Buffalo. In 2019 Glick was also awarded an artist residency at BuBu, Budapest, Hungary, culminating in an exhibition at Budapest Art Factory. Glick’s work is included in several collections including Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo, New York; The Broad, Los Angeles, California; Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, New York; The Eli & Edythe Broad Foundation, Los Angeles, California; Deutsche Bank, New York and Citi Bank, New York.