Parallel Play
John Molloy Gallery September 25–October 30, 2021 Making art is a solitary activity and although artists treasure their time alone in their studios, many also seek camaraderie and community. In the early part of the 20th Century, Picasso and Braque famously shared daily studio visits while they were collaboratively developing Cubism. “We were like mountain-climbers roped together,” Braque recalled. “Almost every evening,” said Picasso, “either I went to Braque’s studio or Braque came to mine. Each of us had to see what the other had done during the day.” * Today, we have merely to look at our phones to know, instantaneously, what other artists around the world are doing in their studios. Parallel Play presents the work of four artists—Jacob Cartwright, Daniel G. Hill, Mary Schiliro and Patricia Zarate—who share an interest in parallel forms, symmetries, pattern, and color. The exhibition includes paintings and sculptures, as well as works on paper, giving an in-depth look at each artist’s process. Making art is a solitary activity and although artists treasure their time alone in the studio, many also seek camaraderie and community. The four artists in the exhibition are affiliated with each other by way of membership in American Abstract Artists, a community of artists founded in 1936 and one of the few artist organizations founded in the early part of the 20th Century that is still thriving today. A shared sensibility and language expressed through the work of these four AAA members has been reinforced by their personal and professional relationships over a number of years. Brought together for the exhibition, their works are playing in parallel and generating stimulating dialogues on the gallery walls. —Mary Schiliro and Daniel G. Hill, exhibition curators * Press release for “Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism,” Museum of Modern Art, September 1989 Installation Views |
 Jacob Cartwright was born in Illinois and lives and works in the New York City area. He holds a BFA in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute. He has exhibited in the U.S. and internationally—his work was recently featured in Form And Intent, an international survey of non-objective art at Abstract Project in Paris, France. Curatorial work includes a 2019 show presented in Athens, Greece with IS-projects (now EST Art Foundation) as part of the Platforms Project independent art fair. He is a member of American Abstract Artists.
Image: Jacob Cartwright, Tone Parallel No 3, acrylic on canvas over panel, 20 × 16 inches, 2019 |
Daniel G. Hill was born in Providence, R.I. He lives and works in New York City, teaches at the Parsons School of Design, and is a member of American Abstract Artists. He earned a MFA from Hunter College and an AB from Brown University. Hill is a multi-disciplinary artist who has worked in sculpture, installation, painting, photography, and digital media. His work has been exhibited in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Mexico, and he has curated thematic group exhibitions in Paris and New York. His work is held in the collections of the Stiftung Konzeptuelle Kunst in Soest, Germany; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Phillips Collection; Cleveland Museum of Art; Yale University Art Gallery; and the Arkansas Art Center. He is the recipient of a fellowship in painting from the National Endowment for the Arts and was awarded two year-long residencies at PS122 in New York City. Image: Daniel G. Hill, Fallen Painting—four stripes, starched cotton, map tacks, 46 × 17 × 4 inches, 2019 |
Mary Schiliro is an artist based in New York City who creates paintings and installations using acrylic paint and Mylar. Schiliro’s work has been exhibited widely, across the United States, as well as internationally in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Currently she is participating in a traveling exhibition, Blurring Boundaries: The Women of American Abstract Artists, 1936-Present at The Freedman Gallery, Albright College, in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her work has been reviewed in the Los Angeles Times, Sculpture Magazine, The New Criterion and On-Verge. Schiliro was the recipient of two Project Studio residencies at PS122 in New York City. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Hunter College of the City University of New York and is a Member of American Abstract Artists. Image: Mary Schiliro, Dip Drip Snip 5, acrylic on Mylar, 15 x 11 inches, 2020 |
 Patricia Zarate was born in Cali, Colombia. She currently lives and works in New York City and is a member of American Abstract Artists. Patricia received a MFA from Pratt Institute and a BBA from Baruch College, both in New York City. She has exhibited in the United States and internationally, including museum exhibitions at Queens Museum of Art, Flushing, New York; El Museo del Barrio, New York, New York; Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Gwangju Art Museum, Gwangju, South Korea. She was awarded a BAU Institute Arts Residency in Otranto, Italy and was the recipient of an Individual Artist Support Grant from the Queens Council on the Arts. Patricia’s work has been reviewed in Artnexus, Art News, Newsday, and the Philadelphia Weekly. In 2013, Patricia co-founded Key Projects, an art space, devoted to creating dialogue and community with other artists through group exhibitions.
Image: Patricia Zarate, The Story of Persimmon, acrylic on birch wood, 10 x 21 x ¾ inches, 2021 |
