Weinstein Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new paintings and photographs by artist Todd Norsten.

TODD NORSTEN
EDITED FOR CONTENT

OPENING RECEPTION WITH THE ARTIST
Friday, October 11th, 6:00-8:00PM

This exhibition will present 15 new works by artist Todd Norsten. The paintings, which vary in size from small and intimate to large and encompassing, explore the idea of content, or specifically, no content. Many of the paintings feature layers of paint precisely and adeptly built up on canvas to give the impression of overlapping bands of clear Scotch tape. The minimalist tape paintings are complete with surface imperfections like hair, dust, as well as ragged edges and tears. Norsten writes, "The parts that are most visible are the unpristine hairs, smudges, fingerprints and incidental marks that occur in painting. That's what life is like, we attempt to do things - have a family, a career, form friendships, see the world or any other human endeavor and at the end there are just trace elements of our existence. Often it's the smudges and impure things that define what we are or were." These meticulous paintings are compositionally seductive, demonstrating the artist's ability to balance high and low imagery. 

In addition, recent photographs by Norsten will be interspersed throughout the exhibition. The vernacular images of peeling paint, commercial signs and dilapidated exteriors act as source material and a visual diary of process, commenting on the "commonness" of paint as material.

Todd Norsten was born in 1967 in Minnesota, where he continues to live and work. He has a BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and was the recipient of the Ellen Boetel Steckle Fellowship, the Jerome Foundation Fellowship, and the McKnight Visual Arts Fellowship. He has exhibited at numerous galleries and museums in the United States, Europe and Asia, and was included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial. His work is in the permanent collections of the British Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Walker Art Center, as well as numerous private collections.