• Al Freeman
• Daniel Boccato

Flat

FLAT: Al Freeman + Daniel Boccato

November 30^th 2018 – January 17th, 2019

Preview, November 29th , 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Carl Kostyál is pleased to present FLAT, an exhibition of new work by Al Freeman and Daniel Boccato. Comprising three soft sculptures by Freeman, and two wall-mounted works by Boccato, the presentation will be on view from November 29^th 2018 through January 17^th, 2019.

On view in the gallery are two sets of large format sculptures, mounted to the walls. The first group pairs Freeman’s “Soft Slide” with Boccato’s “gulface.” In the second group, Freeman’s “Soft Vaseline” and “Soft Hose” are joined by Boccato’s “fossface.” The works in both groups take their forms from familiar domestic objects. Freeman’s sculptures faithfully reproduce a tub of vaseline, a garden hose, and a slide sandal, respectively. Boccato’s works take formal liberties with other household fixtures, exaggerating the shape of a faucet, and abstracting the silhouette of a teacup. Taken together, the presentation assembles a wonky quotidian vision, in which everyday objects are enlarged to humorous, exaggerated scales. The exhibition’s title, “FLAT,” makes reference to this subject matter, borrowing the colloquial British term for an apartment.

Freeman’s work is marked by a deflationary impulse, visible in both her methods of production and her selection of subject matter. Her soft sculptures reproduce and exaggerate items traditionally associated with masculine domestic settings. She drains these objects of their virility in order to reinvest them with humor, replacing rigid geometries with flaccid forms. Juxtaposing a jar of Vaseline, notable for its use as a personal lubricant, alongside an oversized garden hose, Freeman subtly skewers toxic masculinity by letting the air out of its common accessories.

Boccato makes brightly colored sculptures from epoxy, fiberglass, and polyurethane. His process begins by sketching outlines of forms he encounters in the world and blowing them up to human scale. Based on these forms, Boccato makes rough molds out of cardboard and tape, which he lines with plastic tarp. He paints the tarp a solid color and applies layers of fiberglass to the mold, which binds to the paint and registers the wrinkles from the tarp. Removing the mold, Boccato is left with a dimensional, monochromatic shell that appears alternatively heavy and plush. The works on view ape the silhouettes of a leaky faucet and an oversized teacup, in a manner that creeps between abstraction and figuration.

Al Freeman (b. 1981, Toronto, Canada) lives and works in New York. She received her B.F.A. from Concordia University in 2005, and her M.F.A. from the Yale University School of Art in 2010. Her work has been the subject of numerous solo presentations, including recent exhibitions at Bortolami, New York; and 56 HENRY, New York. She has been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including recent presentations at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York; Chateau du Feÿ, Bourgogne; CUE Foundation, New York; Almine Rech, New York; Marlborough Contemporary, New York; Reyes Projects, Detroit; Galeria Alegria, Madrid; and Stems, Brussels. In 2017, Freeman published Comparisons with Flat Fix, Brooklyn.

Daniel Boccato (b. 1991, Campinas, Brazil) lives and works in New York. He received his B.F.A. from The Cooper Union in 2013. His work has been the subject of numerous solo presentations, including recent exhibitions at Ribot Gallery, Milan; Tabacalera, Madrid; Sorry We’re Closed, Brussels; Formatocomodo, Madrid; and Kasia Michalski Gallery, Warsaw. He has been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including recent presentations at he.ro, Amsterdam; Carl Kostyál, Stockholm; Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati; The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn; Arsenal, Toronto; and Division Gallery, Montreal.

Press release written by Zachary Fischman