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Roberts Projects (formerly Roberts & Tilton) presents One Way Or Another, a group exhibition featuring artists whose work the gallery has championed through thematic group exhibitions as well as solo shows. This exhibition takes its title from the pure power pop of Blondie’s 1978 hit. The exhibition is comprised of works by Michael Dopp, Egan Frantz, Jeffrey Gibson, James Hayward, Evan Nesbit, Betye Saar, Ed Templeton, Evan Trine, Kehinde Wiley, and Zhao Zhao. The photographs, sculptures, paintings and films on view share a common approach of innovation. The similarities are less stylistic than intellectual.

Perceptual effect is amplified in Betye Saar’s sculptural works. Although her works include familiar material objects, they impart a sense of mystery. From the ordinary is created the extraordinary. Drawing upon the language of early Mississippian culture ceramic head “pots,” Gibson styles ghoulish domes that give voice to the complexities of American history by accessing a less prominent ceramics tradition. These “pots” are jars shaped like human heads, typically male, and the personages commonly appear to be deceased. Kehinde Wiley’s portraits represent a historical narrative of, and in defiance of, the exploitation of Eurocentric Art, which in turn raises issues - which transcend consideration of form -into varying social, political, and economic spheres.

Autobiography is inherent in these works. Evan Nesbit’s repurposed paintings, manipulated through non-studio processes and materials, are a diary of his emotional states at certain moments in his life. Evan Trine’s photographs are notable for his unique visual language as seen through the photograph’s rigor of repetition and form. Michael Dopp’s works on paper are capricious landscape fantasies unavailable to reality, mixing fragmented human figures with vernacular imagery. Egan Frantz’s painting pushes the invented sense of place further, depicting an atmosphere of lush landscapes and water dappled by natural light.

One of the few general characteristics of the artists in the show is how they relate their work to representational art, particularly movement. In Zhao Zhao’s masterful sequence of paintings, slices of salted duck eggs float across the surface of the canvas like a new kind of calligraphy, the clarity of the ink black background forming many horizons that nearly blend into one. James Hayward’s layered approach to painting underlies how he intervenes and acts upon the present. Each dip and peak highlighting how there is no certainty to be found on the painting’s surface but the paint itself.

One Way Or Another is accompanied by a screening of rare films, including: Betye Saar Colored Spade, 1971 Length: 1 minute, 19 seconds Betye Saar’s 1971 film Colored Spade is an assemblage of American derogatory images gradually replaced with depictions of African American power and solidarity. The film explores Saar’s interest in deconstructing historical and political narratives through the use of symbolism within found imagery

Kehinde Wiley Smile, 2016
Length: 1 hour 30 minutes

For this video artwork by Kehinde Wiley, seventeen young men were asked to smile unceasingly in front of a camera for one hour. Found on the streets of New York by the artist, they were subjected to a surprisingly difficult performance of endurance, emotion, and strain. Obligated to appear happy—at any cost—they stoically submit to this discomfort and humiliation, face after interchangeable face. When each man in the four video channels can no longer bear his grin, he is replaced by yet another of seventeen faces.

Zhao Zhao Desert and Camel, 2017
41 minutes, 51 seconds

In October 2015, Zhao Zhao began his Project Taklamakan in Xinjiang, China. Two years later, Zhao Zhao reactivated the project by bringing a Bactrian camel from the Taklamakan Desert into an exhibitionary space. In this artwork, the camel lives in this highly modern space for ten days, accompanied by its keeper and both food and water troughs crafted in marble by the artist. When fed and domesticated, the camel‘s practical functionality gives way to an aesthetic visual reversal, giving it a new significance.

Evan Trine Dream Lake Trail (PC,M,Y,B,G,PM,LG,C) (PM,Y,C,B,G,M,LG,PC), 2017 Unique archival pigment print diptych: 40 x 60 in (101.6 x 152.4 cm) overall; framed: 41 x 62 inch (104.1 x 157.5 cm)

Evan Trine
Dream Lake Trail (PC,M,Y,B,G,PM,LG,C) (PM,Y,C,B,G,M,LG,PC), 2017
Unique archival pigment print
diptych: 40 x 60 in (101.6 x 152.4 cm) overall; framed: 41 x 62 inch (104.1 x 157.5 cm)

Betye Saar Cage (In the Beginning), 2006 Mixed media assemblage 42 x 15 x 12 in (106.7 x 38.1 x 30.5 cm)

Betye Saar
Cage (In the Beginning), 2006
Mixed media assemblage
42 x 15 x 12 in (106.7 x 38.1 x 30.5 cm)

Evan Nesbit Manifold Painting (Superstratum 02), 2017 Acrylic on vinyl 53 x 37 in (134.62 x 93.98 cm); framed: 54 x 38 inch (137.2 cm x 96.5 cm

Evan Nesbit
Manifold Painting (Superstratum 02), 2017
Acrylic on vinyl
53 x 37 in (134.62 x 93.98 cm); framed: 54 x 38 inch (137.2 cm x 96.5 cm

Zhao Zhao Preserved Duck Eggs #3, 2016 Oil on linen 10.6 x 13.8 in (27 x 35 cm); framed: 16.14 x 19.7 in (41 x 50 cm)

Zhao Zhao
Preserved Duck Eggs #3, 2016
Oil on linen
10.6 x 13.8 in (27 x 35 cm); framed: 16.14 x 19.7 in (41 x 50 cm)

Zhao Zhao Preserved Duck Eggs #1, 2016 Oil on linen 10.6 x 13.8 in (27 x 35 cm); framed: 16.14 x 19.7 in (41 x 50 cm)

Zhao Zhao
Preserved Duck Eggs #1, 2016
Oil on linen
10.6 x 13.8 in (27 x 35 cm); framed: 16.14 x 19.7 in (41 x 50 cm)

Zhao Zhao Preserved Duck Eggs #4, 2016 Oil on linen 10.6 x 13.8 in (27 x 35 cm); framed: 16.14 x 19.7 in (41 x 50 cm)

Zhao Zhao
Preserved Duck Eggs #4, 2016
Oil on linen
10.6 x 13.8 in (27 x 35 cm); framed: 16.14 x 19.7 in (41 x 50 cm)

Zhao Zhao Preserved Duck Eggs #2, 2016 Oil on linen 10.6 x 13.8 in (27 x 35 cm); framed: 16.14 x 19.7 in (41 x 50 cm)

Zhao Zhao
Preserved Duck Eggs #2, 2016
Oil on linen
10.6 x 13.8 in (27 x 35 cm); framed: 16.14 x 19.7 in (41 x 50 cm)

Evan Nesbit Replete Anxieties, 2017 Acrylic, UV ink and Flash on vinyl fabric 66 x 60 in (167.6 x 152.4 cm)

Evan Nesbit
Replete Anxieties, 2017
Acrylic, UV ink and Flash on vinyl fabric
66 x 60 in (167.6 x 152.4 cm)

Betye Saar The Divine Face, 1970 Mixed media assemblage 42 x 22.25 x .38 in (106.7 x 56.5 x 1.0 cm)

Betye Saar
The Divine Face, 1970
Mixed media assemblage
42 x 22.25 x .38 in (106.7 x 56.5 x 1.0 cm)

Michael Dopp Janus (4X), 2017 Ink on paper 19 x 13 in (48.3 x 33.0 cm); framed: 21 x 14.75 in (53.3 x 37.5 cm)

Michael Dopp
Janus (4X), 2017
Ink on paper
19 x 13 in (48.3 x 33.0 cm); framed: 21 x 14.75 in (53.3 x 37.5 cm)

Michael Dopp Janus (Ekberg), 2017 Ink on paper 19 x 13 in (48.3 x 33.0 cm); framed: 21 x 14.75 in (53.3 x 37.5 cm)

Michael Dopp
Janus (Ekberg), 2017
Ink on paper
19 x 13 in (48.3 x 33.0 cm); framed: 21 x 14.75 in (53.3 x 37.5 cm)

Michael Dopp Janus (Lemons), 2017 Ink on paper 19 x 13 in (48.3 x 33.0 cm); framed: 21 x 14.75 in (53.3 x 37.5 cm)

Michael Dopp
Janus (Lemons), 2017
Ink on paper
19 x 13 in (48.3 x 33.0 cm); framed: 21 x 14.75 in (53.3 x 37.5 cm)

Michael Dopp Janus (Straw), 2017 Ink on paper 19 x 13 in (48.3 x 33.0 cm); framed: 21 x 14.75 in (53.3 x 37.5 cm)

Michael Dopp
Janus (Straw), 2017
Ink on paper
19 x 13 in (48.3 x 33.0 cm); framed: 21 x 14.75 in (53.3 x 37.5 cm)

James Hayward Abstract Diptych #49, 2017 Oil on canvas on wood panels 33 x 44 in (83.8 x 111.8 cm) overall

James Hayward
Abstract Diptych #49, 2017
Oil on canvas on wood panels
33 x 44 in (83.8 x 111.8 cm) overall

Kehinde Wiley Portrait of Jarret Scantlebury, 2017 Oil on canvas 28 x 22 in (71.1 x 55.9 cm)

Kehinde Wiley
Portrait of Jarret Scantlebury, 2017
Oil on canvas
28 x 22 in (71.1 x 55.9 cm)

Egan Frantz Starry Night, 2016 Mixed media on canvas 74.8 x 118.1 in (190 x 300 cm)

Egan Frantz
Starry Night, 2016
Mixed media on canvas
74.8 x 118.1 in (190 x 300 cm)

Ed Templeton Girl With Braces, 2017 Acrylic on panel 21 x 14 in (53.3 x 35.6 cm); framed: 22 x 15.12 in (55.9 x 38.4 cm)

Ed Templeton
Girl With Braces, 2017
Acrylic on panel
21 x 14 in (53.3 x 35.6 cm); framed: 22 x 15.12 in (55.9 x 38.4 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson Every Eye Open, 2016 Glazed ceramic 20 x 16 x 11.5 in (50.8 x 40.6 x 29.2 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson
Every Eye Open, 2016
Glazed ceramic
20 x 16 x 11.5 in (50.8 x 40.6 x 29.2 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson Another Tongue, 2016 Glazed ceramic 18 x 11.5 x 13 in (45.7 x 29.2 x 33.0 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson
Another Tongue, 2016
Glazed ceramic
18 x 11.5 x 13 in (45.7 x 29.2 x 33.0 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson I Should Know Better, 2016 Glazed ceramic 18.5 x 15 x 14 in (47.0 x 38.1 x 35.6 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson
I Should Know Better, 2016
Glazed ceramic
18.5 x 15 x 14 in (47.0 x 38.1 x 35.6 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson Dawn, 2017 Acrylic and graphite on canvas 31 x 27 in (78.7 x 68.6 cm)

Jeffrey Gibson
Dawn, 2017
Acrylic and graphite on canvas
31 x 27 in (78.7 x 68.6 cm)

Betye Saar Colored Spade, 1971 Short film, 1 minute, 19 seconds

Betye Saar
Colored Spade, 1971
Short film, 1 minute, 19 seconds

Kehinde Wiley Smile, 2016 Digital video, 90 min, color

Kehinde Wiley
Smile, 2016
Digital video, 90 min, color

Zhao Zhao Desert and Camel, 2018 Film 41 minutes, 51 seconds

Zhao Zhao
Desert and Camel, 2018
Film
41 minutes, 51 seconds