Substance

Louis B. James is pleased to present Substance, the first solo show with the gallery by
Elise Adibi. We present 12 new works, a combination of gold, monochromatic, striped
and poured paintings, in a meditative setting, inviting the viewer to spend reflective time
within the installation.

The gold is used both as color and 24-karat leaf. It does not tarnish when exposed to the
elements. It was the standard that backed our dollar as well as the material used for our
most precious objects. It is valued for its permanence. Within the gold paintings, Adibi
has continued her use of organic materials, mixing essential plant oils with paint,
including frankincense, neroli, myrrh, turmeric, lemon and others.

Through the monochrome, stripe and pour pieces Adibi plays with compositional
strategies, displacing preordained picture making. Varying in appearance, the same
material substances comprise each type of painting. The grid remains a mainstay. Adibi’s
grids are not made of perfectly straight lines and 90-degree angles; rather they are
embodied. There is an insistence on the hand – erasures, finger marks and imperfections
are present.

Substance was made by Adibi while she was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for
Advanced Study at Harvard University in 2013-14. She has received grants from the
Pollock-Krasner Foundation in both 2008 and 2013. In 2007 the Terra Foundation
awarded her a fellowship in Giverny, France. She has shown at the Radcliffe Institute for
Advanced Study, Churner and Churner, Southfirst, Halsey McKay Gallery and the Andy
Warhol Museum. In 2010 Adibi curated Gold in Braddock an exhibition of 17 artists in
Braddock, PA. In 2013 her work was presented at the Armory Show Focus, curated by
Eric Shiner.