Minimalism at Staple Goods

Until March 4th, Staple Goods features the latest work from Jack Niven with Footings, a show assembling sixteen pieces made of concrete. Among other accomplishments, the painter and sculptor previously exhibited Happiness By The Gram at the gallery, and created a joyful street mural made of "radiant orbs" for the triennal Prospect New Orleans (Prospect.3). Reckon can be seen on Tchoupitoulas. Inspired by subjects as varied as history, his surroundings, the digital world, the artist expresses himself through different languages from figurative to abstract, according to themes. This time, he has chosen the purest form of abstract art, minimalism, for this tribute to his father, Jack Niven.

The sculptures displayed on individual supports attached to the white walls of the gallery are below eye level, allowing a bird view. Four of them are set on a pedestal in the center of the room, one along the windowsill and Untitled #11 on a shelf near the entrance. The grey color of the concrete on the white background generates an emotionless environment in the carefully prepped space. No visual distraction is allowed, not even wall texts and as a result of the visual "cleanliness", the sculptures appear to be floating along the walls, adding an unexpected quality to the medium: lightness. Leaflets at the entrance provide detailed information about the works, including the artist's statement. The assemblage of geometric shapes and different shades of grey are the only variants in the neutral monochrome display. With an average length of ten inches, the longest reaching thirty, the pieces could be held in one hand. The three-dimensional works have not only visual but also haptic qualities due to the rough surface of the cold material. Each looked at different angles offers variations of aesthetic beauty through perfect lines and shapes.

The "white gallery" has become a cliché, but this time it is part of the show, a world of purity and quietness to engender reflection and spirituality. Of note, the word minimalism came from the essay entitled Minimal Art, 1965, by British philosopher Richard Wollheim. It is defined by a few criteria which include usually industrial material and sobriety of shapes to create reductive pieces of art, objects activating the space, themselves activated by the viewer. In this exhibition, the untitled and numbered works meet all the qualifications of minimalism. What about the artist's intend? Purely aesthetic for a graphic impact or a higher goal through simple imagery leading to meditation? Niven provides a clue with Untitled #11 acting as a vessel for a sample of his father's ashes. Clearly as described in his artist's statement, he has dedicated the exhibition to his father who was in the construction business. What more appropriate than the architectural pieces made with concrete? The sculptures have also become receptacles for emotions and memories, "permanent and impervious to the natural world for many generations" to come.
One material, one color, simple shapes, so much with so little.

photographs by the author