MURRAY HOCHMAN: NEW DIMENSIONS On View At KinoSaito Art Center Beginning March 4

Murray Hochman: New Dimensions, an exhibition at KinoSaito Art Center in Verplanck, will open March 4, 2023 and be on view through 7 May. Curated by the Kikuo Saito Studio, the exhibition will feature twenty-four of Hochman's recent works, including paintings and sculptures.

For nearly six decades, Hochman has explored the possibilities of light, color, geometry and gesture in his practice. His work is defined by a bold and curious approach to materials and, connected to this, an acute perception of surfaces, starting from his study of ceramics in graduate school. Typically, he employs lacquer spray paints to build subtle, richly layered surfaces, which are then distressed by solvents and other means. Over the last few years, Hochman has enjoyed a period of intense experimentation, including the use of new materials.

This exhibition is significant in featuring several sculptures, representing Hochman's first foray into the medium since his ceramics days. These mixed-media assemblages are composed from materials scavenged from the local dump, with Hochman transforming plastic waste into dynamic three-dimensional works, both wall reliefs and free-standing sculptures. The resulting objects range from the playful to the sublime, underscoring the tension between the discarded base materials and their seemingly alchemical transformations.

"From the minute I started thinking about plastic and art, I knew there was a connection," Hochman remarks. "Making art out of plastic has been a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Plastic has the potential to be anything. I can remember when cars turned plastic, radios turned plastic. So why not art? But, of course, people don't like that."

Exhibition details for Murray Hochman: New Dimensions
Location: KinoSaito Art Center, Verplanck, NY.
Opening: Saturday, March 4, from 4-7pm. RSVP: https://www.kinosaito.org/2023-spring-opening
Dates: March 4-May 7, 2023.
Opening hours: Friday-Sunday, 10am-5pm. Thursday by appointment.
More information: www.kinosaito.org/new-dimensions.

Murray Hochman is a self-taught painter who has developed a significant body of work over the course of nearly 60 years. Hochman has a B.A. in Art History from New York University and an M.A. in Fine Arts from Alfred University, where he studied ceramics before turning to painting. His earliest paintings were recognized by leading galleries and collectors. In the 1960s, his work appeared in shows at the Pace and Tibor de Nagy galleries and in the collections of Henry Geldzahler, Sam Hunter, Frederic Mueller, Robert Scull and Allan Stone. Since then, Hochman has kept himself at some remove from the art establishment, letting his own processes, both internal and external, and his materials shape his work. In 2012 he left his studio in New York City and continues his work from a converted barn in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.