Luce Gallery is proud to present the group show Difference and Repetition, featuring new works by the artists Graham Collins, Ethan Cook, Nick Darmstaedter, Brendan Lynch and Chris Succo. The show is based on the concepts formulated by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze in his book of the same title, in which he discusses the notion of identity of every single work, also when it draws its inspiration from the past or simply supplies interpretations of already explicated thoughts.

The exhibition represents an attempt to demonstrate how the philosophical-literary idea expressed at the end of the 1960s by Deleuze can be substantially linked to the visual arts, since in fact a large part of contemporary art embraces the principle that repetition should not be seen as generality, and “the exchange or substitution of particulars defines our conduct in relation to generality, we can see that repetition is a necessary and justified conduct only in relation to that which cannot be replaced” What has just been stated identifies a large part of what is expressed today in the world of contemporary art, where we are seeing new trends we consider substantially innovative, though they very rarely fully abandon the classical canons of the modern art of the '900s, taking their cue from it with references to the artists or the techniques utilized, as if to forge on with a path that cannot completely separate from the past. From the reinterpretation of certain classics and therefore from the wider use of the imaginary of the past, to simple inspiration drawn from specific conceptual elements with minimum use of the tool of repetition, the difference is contained in the identity of the work itself. “The introduction of a disequilibrium into the dynamic process of construction, produce an instability which appears only in the overall effect” and these elements establish a dialogue with the more generic aspect of the work, identifying it in its originality.

The five artists in the show, each with a different conceptual and media approach, present works that in some way make reference to the principle outlined above. Nevertheless, through their uniqueness and originality, they trace the principles modern art has expressed over the course of the

years, principles that are more alive than ever today; through their work, they constitute an extension of the principles themselves, helping the observer to understand them in a deeper way than in the past. We can notice this when, for example, we find works inspired by Warhol or by some of his series that perhaps at the time of their creation did not meet with particular success, or are considered to be of lesser visual impact today. Nevertheless, these are works that if reexamined, reformulated by today contemporary artists, can make us more fully understand the greatness of the Pop Art founder, since they have influenced the art of today. So the extension of the principle of repetition roots the referenced concept in a wider audience and makes its meaning more deeply understood, sharpening individuality.

Graham Collins lives and works in New York. Through the use of untreated materials like used wooden frames and stained glass, he makes works that can be considered true fusions between painting and sculpture. The work, as a whole, makes it possible to distinguish an intense physical approach. Through the meticulous construction of individual additive elements that bring out colorand transparency, but also the surfaces of rough wood, the result is a particularly elegant combination.

Ethan Cook also lives and works in New York. His works convey the sensation of paintings, but actually they do not involve the use of any paint. The work constitutes a rare reassertion of the talent of producing aesthetically appreciable results from an in-depth investigation of formalism. In his narration, he makes non-figurative works that also stand out for the refinement of the research on the materials used.

Nick Darmstaedter, considered one of the outstanding figures of the Still House Group of New York, has a multimedia approach that often makes use of the ready-made, in order to select iconography drawn from his own cultural roots. He brings out the collective imaginary and the dreams of the viewer, through careful compositions like the one included in this show, involving the

application of “fridge magnets” on aluminum sheets.

Brendan Lynch, also part of the Still House Group of New York, shows three diptychs that combine aspects of reinterpretation and the ready-made. Each work is composed of a painting made by the artist’s older brother, and one made by the artist himself. The work of the brother is used as a medium, while Lynch’s own painting is its abstract interpretation, a repetition conducted inside the repetition itself, in an original take on the concept of the show.

Chris Succo, who lives and works in Dusseldorf, presents his latest series of paintings, in which he first coats the canvas with spray paint and then covers it with gestural signs in white oil paint. As if the intention were to cover the design on the surface of the canvas, he applies materic layers of paint that highlight forms as in a bas relief, in an attempt to obtain an approach closer to sculpture than to painting. The random character of the forms finds a natural balance, thanks to monochromatic expanse lit up by veiled flashes of color.

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