PATRICK MIKHAIL IN MONTRÉAL PRESENTS ZIP STACK FLOW, AN EXHIBITION OF NEW WORKS BY MONTRÉAL ARTIST ANTONIETTA GRASSI
MONTRÉAL
OCTOBER 8 TO NOVEMBER 12, 2022
ARTIST RECEPTION:
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2022
2 P.M. TO 5 P.M.
PATRICK MIKHAIL in Montréal is pleased to present ZIP STACK FLOW, an exhibition of new works by Montréal painter ANTONIETTA GRASSI. In her third solo exhibition with the gallery, Grassi continues to reference the historical links between textiles and technology through the language of abstract painting.
In Zip Stack Flow, Grassi creates paintings that appear to be compressions of her painting process—much like zip files or stacks—tightly packed with bits of data and time. In data visualization, “stacks” of information are mapped out into quantifiable values that result in graphic images that can be aesthetically captivating. Zip Stack Flow references not only the formal properties evident in Grassi’s paintings but also the language around technology and the nature of work.
Grassi’s paintings are simultaneously minimal and maximalist in their attempt to distill and temper sensory overload. The works are intuitively derived and unplanned, belying their mathematical and precise appearance. The meticulous hand painting of lines and swaths of layers creates a flow state that is very connected to the creative process and the nature of manual work—meditative, contemplative, and demanding time and attention. In an increasingly dematerialized world with a constant inundation of data, Grassi’s work seeks to find beauty, solace, and connection in the making itself.
Grassi’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries in Canada, the United States, and Europe, including the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Katonah Museum of Art in New York, Canadian Pavillion at Expo Dubai, McClure Art Gallery, Stewart Hall Art Gallery, Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston Public Library, Trestle Gallery, Site Brooklyn, the Symposium international d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul in Québec, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Studios at MASS MOCA. Her work is in public, corporate, and private collections including the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul, Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec, Global Affairs Canada, Archives of Ontario, Groupe Desjardins, Boston Public Library, Capital One, Yamana Gold, Stewart Hall Art Gallery, and the MAACK (Italy). Her work has been reviewed in numerous publications including Artforum, Vie des Arts, The Globe and Mail, The Montreal Gazette, Revue Esse, Le Devoir, Le Soleil, Canadian Art, La Presse, Akimbo, and Daze Magazine. She has a BFA from Concordia University and an MFA from UQAM in Montréal.