EN EM Art Space presents Nathan Cordero: A Once Retired Wardrobe

EN EM Art Space presents Nathan Cordero: A Once Retired Wardrobe

and Installation in the Project Space by Sam Mell

Nathan Cordero, Untitled, 56” x 46”, 2014.

In A ONCE RETIRED WARDROBE (also the title of one of Nathan Cordero’s artworks), Cordero adopts the cast-off materials of everyday life and reinvigorates them in compositions that elevate them beyond their original intended purposes. Cordero says, “Everything I have accumulated in the past two years is included in these works: wood, unearthed metal objects, found photos, scraps of paper, vinyl banners, canvas, sandpaper, peeled paint, packaging of all sorts, paint swatches from paint departments, magazine clippings. Any of these things could have been once touched or possessed by any of us.” These things may be imbued with a collective human touch, but in Cordero’s hands, they’ve been further transformed into elegant works of art.

Nathan Cordero has shown his work throughout Northern California including the Nelson Gallery (UC Davis), Johanssen Projects (Oakland), Di Rosa Preserve (Napa), and Gregory Kondos Gallery (Sacramento).

Sam Mell, Detail from select installation, Tape, marker, on wall, 2014.

Installation by Sam Mell in the Project Space:

Sam Mell’s obsessive pattern drawings are an examination of mastery, duration, and gestural form. His works draw from common decorative motifs and stage a subtle interplay between logic and idiosyncrasy. Mell says of his methodology, “I use approximation and speed to introduce human error, creating visible distortions and emphasizing the presence of the hand. My goal is to unlock the performative essence of drawing, while staying within the semiotics of the image.”

Whether rendered in masking tape, spray paint or markers, Mell’s fields of repetitive patterns, often reflective of traditional and contemporary textile design, never lets us forget the presence of the artist’s hands at play.

Sam Mell is an artist based in San Francisco, CA. He received his MFA in Painting from San Francisco Art Institute in 2013.

En Em Art Space is a new gallery in Sacramento committed to bringing exciting emerging and mid-career artists to the Sacramento Region. Building on the momentum of a burgeoning artist community in the area, we wanted to create a unique space built around a program of challenging art and artists committed to engaging disciplinary issues.

EN EM Art Space is open Saturdays and Sundays, 1:00 pm – 7:00pm, and by appointment on weekdays.