Sperone Westwater is pleased to present new work by Emil Lukas. His fifth solo exhibition at the gallery is comprised of paintings and works on paper utilizing materials which have characterized his practice: thread, acrylic, ink and larvae.

Lukas’ circular thread paintings, Fuse and Collision (each 60 inches in diameter) combine an actively painted reflector behind an accumulation of thread. Stacking layers to encourage closer inspection, the artist poses the questions ‘do we look at or into a work of art?’ The threads create an illuminated atmosphere which quietly hums with optical vibrations. “The most important process is when a work of art enters the eye and goes to the brain,” says Lukas.

The ink-and-graphite works on paper combine the artist’s signature larvae drawings with a technique that mimics wet plate photography. “I dive into old black and white photographs to find the truth,” says Lukas. “Investigating perspective and representational drawing is a lifelong interest.”

The artist’s new series of lattice paintings, including Glass in Moving Water, explores what happens when we process two complementary paintings at the same time. The artist creates an underpainting on the canvas, then layers a second composition on a raised pattern of dots. The combined acrylic-on-canvas works engage the viewers’ position and distance in the surrounding architecture of the gallery.  

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1964, Emil Lukas has exhibited throughout the United States and abroad. Solo museum shows include “Emil Lukas: Connection to the Curious,” The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT (2005); “Emil Lukas,” The Weatherspoon Museum, Greensboro, NC (2005); “Things with Wings,” The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA (2005); “Moderate Climate and the Bitter Bison,” Hunterdon Museum, Hunterdon, NJ (2008); “Emil Lukas,” Morris Gallery at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia (2016); “Emil Lukas: Entre dos líneas tenues,” Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Atchugarry, Uruguay (2023) and “Emil Lukas: Four Modes,” Lafayette College Art Galleries, Easton, PA (2023). His work is in important private and public collections, including the Panza Collection, Italy; the Dakis Joannou Collection, Greece; Margulies Collection, Miami; Allentown Art Museum, PA; the Anderson Collection at Stanford University; Baltimore Museum of Art; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; San José Museum of Art; UBS Art Collection; and Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC.