Stay High – Leah Tacha at Gold/scopophilia

In Dialogue with Jennifer Wroblewski Founder of Gold/scopophilia

Leah Tacha, Notice Me. 2019. 20 x 11 x 3 inches. Ceramic with digital decals. Photo by Maeve Fitzhoward.
Leah Tacha, Notice Me. 2019. 20 x 11 x 3 inches. Ceramic with digital decals. Photo by Maeve Fitzhoward.

Gold/scopophilia is a rigorous artist run art venue in Upper Montclair NJ, founded in 2017 by Jennifer Wroblewski. The founder shares with Art Spiel the story behind her gallery, programming, and current exhibition featuring the work of Leah Tacha.

AS: Tell me a bit about the genesis of Gold/scopophilia

JW: I have spent the past 25 years making work, exhibiting, teaching, and occasionally, curating.

In 2017 I took a sabbatical from teaching and drawing. During that time I saw the Florine Stettheimer, Painting Poetry show at the Jewish Museum, and I think in retrospect, that experience had quite a lot to do with starting the gallery project. I really respond to her work, but I also love her stance. She was smart, intellectual; also moved by color, observant of fashion, and very much a part of the social fabric of her time. In the days and weeks following seeing that wonderful show, I began to visualize a contemporary program housed in my neighborhood, where I could show work (not my own), but also express a different point of view within the larger realm of the contemporary art space.

I reached out to a short list of artists to ask if they would let me include some of their work in this new project, and I was delighted when they all said yes. These were Leah Tacha, Meg Lipke, Heidi Pollard, and Kirsten Hassenfeld.

The project came together fast. Sales came right away, and thanks to Instagram it got a lot of visibility and support from the community. I had a booth at Art on Paper which brought more eyes to the endeavor. I think programs like mine, that are founded and run by artists, are important to the larger ecosystem. Artist run spaces have a different way of being than traditional contemporary programs in Chelsea, TriBeCa, or the LES. The logic and feeling behind the enterprise, as run by an artist, is of course a little antagonistic to the market; a little bit rebellious. That spirit of creativity and perseverance in spite of the context of the the gallery system, is the energy that keeps the project moving forward.

At the same time, I know that acquiring artwork is always a joyful event. Buying art is a little bit of a rebellious maneuver too, and that is energizing to the collector. I am very interested in cultivating relationships that will lead to more and better acquisitions for collectors, which in turn, allow the artists to continue in their life-long explorations in the studio.

AS: “Scopophilia” in Latin means “deriving pleasure from looking” and there are multiple associations with “Gold”. Tell me about your vision for the gallery.

JW: I am primarily interested in work by artists who are driven by a relationship, affinity, and fluency with their materials, whether paint, ceramic, fiber, or wood. The work has to have a strong material presence in the gallery. The program consists mainly of solo shows of new work. The artists who show in the gallery have total creative control of how they will bring us into their point of view, their visual universe. Their creative sphere. The artists decide how best to utilize the space, the gallery resources, and my energy.

I am equally interested in kicking a big dent into the contemporary market by prioritizing the work, as well as the intellectual contributions of critics, writers, and curators who are part of this community. I feel responsible to constantly re-align all of my efforts behind the work and the needs of the artists and then bringing people into the experience through artist talks, receptions, private viewings, and regular gallery hours.

Making matches between collectors and artwork isn’t business; it’s something electric, exciting, and generous-feeling. We should never shy away from deriving pleasure from looking. Our eyes are a gift.

AS: You are currently featuring Leah Tacha’s work through January 3rd. What would you like to share about this show?

JW: From a curatorial perspective, Leah Tacha, Stay High, is exactly emblematic of our programming. She continuously evolves; every new body of work offers new strategies and surprising new maneuvers. Her first solo show, TROPHY, at Sardine (2014) included work that combined paper prints and ceramics: rolled up prints protruded from hand-built vessels. Her second solo show, Fix Up, Look Sharp, at 106 Green, included free-standing sculptural works and framed monotypes. For Stay High, the work is all ceramic. Wall mounted sculptures function in dialog with the free standing works in a way that evokes drawing but is materially assertive as clay. There is still printmaking (essential to Leah’s process), but now the prints are fired onto the ceramic works using digital decals.

Artists who excite me create a language over time, so the process of consuming the work evolves and develops like a love story or a long friendship. Leah works from a really confident place; she takes us for a ride or offers an alternative. She’s ultimately trustworthy with our attention. There are indications of classicism, humor, punk rock, flowers. Rococo flourishes, collapsing vessels, glorious and unexpected combinations of colors and textures.

Leah Tacha, Midnigh Profile, 2019. Ceramic with digital decals and luster. 21 x 11 x 9 inches. Photo by Leah Tacha.

AS: Can you elaborate on the artist’s process?

JW: Leah’s process originates with a drawing that is a combination of collage and mark making. Leah then sets about to translate the drawings into sculptures working in slabs of clay. The clay is fired, and then begins a process of printmaking and glazing. Colorful glazes are used to highlight the shapes and gestures of the sculpture. Digital decals generated from the drawings are fired onto the glazes. Metallic luster is later added by hand and the work is fired again. At some unspecified point, the sculpture is no longer referring to its original drawing, but is addressed as a discreet object with its own needs and identity.

In conversation in the gallery the other day, Leah explained that the drawings seek to capture an identifying gesture that she wants her sculpture to have. So maybe the sculpture isn’t directly referencing a specific basketball player, but harnesses the power of a guard driving the lane. Or the identifiable shimmy of an elegantly dressed pop diva. Or the louche vibe of a specific moment in fashion. It isn’t conceptual, but it is rigorous.

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Leah Tacha, preliminary drawing for Morning Profile
Leah Tacha, Morning Profile, 2019. Ceramic with digital decal and luster. 25 x 12 x 11 inches.

AS: What does your programming for 2020 look like?

JW: Our program is tentatively set through next year with solo shows by Sarah Brenneman, Jonathan Parker, Jenny Kemp, Ashley Garrett, Meg Lipke, and Patricia Satterlee. Leah and I have a project in the works for Spring Break. This year I’ll bring in independent curators to expand our field of play. Every day I’m going to wake up and align my efforts behind the work and the artists, and bringing people into the room – collectors, critics, writers, advisors.

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Curator and gallery owner Jennifer Wroblewski (right) with artist Leah Tacha, at the opening reception for Leah Tacha, Stay High. Photo by Sarah Bergmann

Leah Tacha, Stay High, runs through January 5, 2020. The gallery is located at 594 Valley Road in Upper Montclair, in the Mews courtyard.

Gallery owner and director Jennifer Wroblewski leverages decades of experience as an an exhibiting artist, independent curator, and professor to source remarkable work at a remarkable value. Wroblewski has professional affiliations with the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, SUNY Purchase College School of Art+Design, the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), the New Jersey State Council for the Arts, and the Project for Empty Space (Newark). Her projects have been discussed in the New York Times, Brooklyn Rail, Two Coats of Paint, the New Jersey Start Ledger, the Montclair Local, and on many digital platforms.

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