An exhibition of new paintings and works on paper.

Todd Norsten’s work begins with small, spontaneous paintings on paper that function simultaneously as a visual diary and a subtle study of Middle America, pop culture, politics and religion, all through a specifically American lens. In developing a unique pictorial language comprised of images and text, Norsten navigates a personal and public cultural anthropology of the present that explores the underside of commercial culture and our media saturated environment.

The paintings recall the most ascetic facet of modernism, and are each distilled to their bare essentials. Every surface is carefully considered, each mark is purposeful, each white ground is distinct. This deliberateness serves as a compelling foil to the seemingly casual, offhanded imagery that Norsten employs.

While the paintings initially assert themselves through their biting, shocking and humorous subjects, it’s their formal elegance that anchors their sustaining strength. Norsten performs a graceful balancing act, bluntly tackling subjects like religion and sex with such finesse that the first associations his paintings inspire are to predecessors like Robert Ryman, Blinky Palermo, Richard Tuttle and Philip Guston.

Todd Norsten was most recently included in the 2006 Whitney Biennial “Day For Night” exhibition. He was the subject of a two-person exhibition at the Walker Art Center, MN and has also been included in shows at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the International Print Center in NY. His next exhibition will be a show of paintings at Midway Contemporary Arts in Minneapolis, MN later this year.