Southfirst is proud to present new works by Ariel Dill and Christian Sampson. The exhibition “Inglenook” presents acrylic and oil paintings by Dill and sculptural paintings consisting of acrylics, wood, polymers, dyes, canvas and plexiglass by Sampson, as well as five photographs by Sampson and five collaborative sculptural paintings by Dill and Sampson. The exhibition will be on view from 20 November – 20 December, 2009.

The collaborative works as well as the overall thematic proposition of the exhibition explores material color intersecting with twentieth century psychology. Sampson’s investigation of the translucency of polymers speaks immediately to the legacy of Donald Judd, but has its kinship with the more eclectic material celebration of color made by artists including Robert Irwin and his colleagues. Dill’s paintings are paradoxical, bringing together elements that flip from sculptural then flat or patterned then bare. Color is cut away until only glimpses remain. Washes and stains of color are filtered through blocks of carved paint. The five collaborative paintings attempt to answer the question, “How do you make a painting in the Constructivist idea of ‘object as comrade’ with the material object as an almost animate participate in social life,” and are an extended joint investigation of the work of Wilhelm Reich.

Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957) was a psychiatrist whose anti-establishment practice attempted to create a society based on liberated work and free love. He wrote extensively about Orgone, named for sexual orgasm, a blue light that he linked to both outer space and life energy. Reich’s Orgone energy accumulators were made to concentrate Orgone energy around the body. He claimed they could heal political ills and treat cancer. Dill and Sampson conducted extensive research at Orgonon, Reich’s home and Orgone energy research institute in Rangely, Maine for this exhibition They constructed five Orgone accumulator blankets according to Reich’s FBI-confiscated instructions. Viewers are invited to handle and use the blankets during the exhibition to harness their own Orgone potential.

There will be two screenings of movies relating to Wilhelm Reich and his work during the exhibition on Saturday December 5 and Saturday December 12 at 8 PM.

Ariel Dill was born in Santa Monica, California and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated with an MFA from Hunter College in 2006, and has shown previously with Neverwork, Apartment Show, and Lehmann Maupin Gallery. Christian Sampson was born in Brandenton, Florida and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He graduated with an MFA from Hunter College in 2006. He has previously shown with Mehr Gallery and Neverwork.