Ron Nagle: Midnight Stroll
20 September 2019 – 10 January 2020
The Perimeter is proud to present Midnight Stroll, a solo exhibition by American sculptor Ron Nagle.
Ron Nagle creates intimate, sometimes whimsical sculptures that defy the traditional boundaries between craft-centred ceramics and fine art sculpture. His tactile pieces are made from a variety of materials such as epoxy resin, catalyzed polyurethane, bronze, and high-gloss automotive paint mixed to his specifications and applied with an airbrush. It is this contrast of materials combined with his tongue-in-cheek humour and exceptional use of colour that animates his small-scale works. With inspiration drawn from paintings, drawings and mid 20th century West Coast American culture, these miniature moments provide mysterious windows into Nagle’s vivacious world.
Midnight Stroll is The Perimeter’s first solo exhibition. It features works from the private collections of Alexander V. Petalas and Ron Nagle, and includes 24 sculptures and 10 drawings, some of which have never been seen before. The sculptures are displayed in specially made niches and plate-glass vitrines designed in close collaboration with the artist. The works in the exhibition span the last three decades of Nagle’s career.
Ron Nagle (b. 1939) lives and works in San Francisco. He began working with ceramics in the 1950s which led him to becoming apprentice to Peter Voulkos, generally considered the godfather of the West Coast ceramics scene. Nagle later exhibited his work alongside Voulkos, Ken Price, and other innovative West Coast artists working in clay. His first solo exhibition was in 1968 and since then, he has exhibited frequently in galleries and museums across the globe. Outside of the visual art world, Nagle is also known as a prolific songwriter and composer.
In 2013, Nagle’s work was featured in the 55th Venice Biennale. Notable museum exhibitions include Saint Louis Art Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, San Diego Museum of Art, Museum Bojimans van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Selected public collections include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
In 2019, Nagle has presented solo exhibitions at Matthew Marks Gallery, New York, Fridericianum, Kassel (2019) and Secession, Vienna (2019 – forthcoming). In 2020, Nagle will have a further solo exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum, California.