Fond of a reductive, minimalist sensibility, Malbaurn crafts paintings reliant on the hard edges inherent in geometry. Using an intricate method of taping and layering with acrylics, Malbaurn’s brand of mark making appears almost carved into the paintings’ uniform surfaces. In a 2006 review of Malbaurn’s Kurnatowski exhibition, The Brooklyn Rail writes, “Malbaurn creates a space that is entirely abstract, and in doing so, aligns himself with older painters like Jonathan Lasker and David Reed, painters who early on called attention to the semantics surrounding abstract mark-making in a postmodern era.”

Continuing aesthetic concerns in his previous “Tornado Flower” series, the new “Nautical Sun” paintings explore maritime themes through both conceptual and formal means. At once a symbol of way finding for contemporary counter cultures such as punk rock and historically an actual tool for seafarers, the nautical star provides a conceptual navigation and material direction to Malbaurn’s largely symmetrical compositions. His paintings approach color with both subtle juxtapositions of monochromes and brash collisions of high intensity complements, creating a broad vocabulary of hues.

Malbaurn received a BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2001 and an MFA from Pratt Institute in 2004. This is his second solo exhibition with the gallery. His work has appeared in numerous group exhibitions in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts galleries, universities and institutions, including Denise Bibro Gallery, Broadway Gallery, Brooklyn Public Library, Rhode Island School of Design, and New York University. His work has been recently reviewed in The Brooklyn Rail, Artcritical.com, New York Arts Magazine, and Abstract Art On-line. Malbaurn lives and works in Long Island City, Queens, New York. For more information please contact the gallery.