PREVIEW: FIRST THURSDAY, October 5, gallery open until 7:45 p.m.

OPENING: SATURDAY AFTERNOON ARTIST RECEPTION October 7, 1:30 - 4:00 p.m. (talk at 2 p.m.)

Augen is pleased to present our third exhibition of work by Portland artist David Schell, with a new body of minimalist, abstract paintings on panel. Like his most recently shown work, the new paintings are activated by a vibrant palette of in-your-face hues, with simple forms of organically irregular curved edges. Schell says his concept of “casual plans” refers to life being messy and unpredictable, acknowledging that openness and adaptability offer their own meaningful path forward.

Schell makes his panels irregular in order to create scenarios where color, shape, and texture respond to varying sets of circumstances. He describes each panel as different from the others to allow for a unique arrangement within each specific contour– his metaphor for what it feels like to wake up each day. Schell refers to a growing interest in how simple designs and patterns, even when the space they inhabit is asymmetrical, hint at a sense of order. The initial implied informality prompts him to think about what it means to organize and arrange. While the artist develops his own guidelines for how he approaches his paintings, he has no set rules for how they are completed. Instead, he states that they are “homes for a relaxed and intuitive sense of structure that arrives slowly over time.”