Conny Purtill’s The Ground
September 9–October 15, 2016

Artforum
Conny Purtill
John Motley
September 2016

Adams and Ollman is pleased to announce The Ground, an exhibition organized and designed by Conny Purtill. Past iterations of The Ground have been on view at Midway Contemporary Art, Minneapolis (2009); Adams and Ollman, Portland (2014); and the Fondazione Giuliani, Rome (2015). The exhibition at Adams and Ollman expands upon the project’s last presentation in Rome.

Central to The Ground is an ongoing system of exchange in which Purtill gifts “grounds” to fellow artists. Purtill prepares these grounds, all uniform in size, with alternating layers of white and toned gesso. After eleven layers have been applied, Purtill uses the surface to create his own paintings, each of which are sanded down after completion. When the canvas is exhausted, the artist neutralizes it with graphite creating a rich and varied monochromatic gray surface. These canvases become the grounds on which others create a new work. On view in the exhibition will be works by Felix Culpa, Jay Heikes, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Josiah McElheny, Todd Norsten, and Matthew Ritchie. Also included will be drawings and collages by Purtill, as well as photographs by Ari Marcopoulos and Todd Norsten, all presented on a central structure designed by Jason Rens.

Conny Purtill is an artist and book designer living and working in Los Angeles, CA.

installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


installation view: Conny Purtill’s The Ground


Matthew Ritchie and Conny Purtill
The Ground: Chicken of Destiny, 2016
oil, china marker, gesso, India ink, and pencil on canvas
22 x 17 inches
CP_MR_01


Todd Norsten and Conny Purtill
The Ground: Pantani, 2015
oil, gesso, India ink, and pencil on canvas
22 x 17 inches
CP_TN_02


Taylor Davis and Conny Purtill
The Ground: Untitled, 2016
collage, gesso, India ink, and pencil on canvas
22 x 17 inches
CP_TD_01


Josiah McElheny and Conny Purtill
The Ground: Sun Ra’s Color Time (Blue Black over Blue), 2015
hand rubbed casein paint, colored oil pencil, gesso, India ink, pencil on canvas
22 x 17 inches
CP_JMCEL_01


Felix Culpa and Conny Purtill
The Ground: Coq Tail Parti on the Ground, 2015
gesso, India ink, and pencil with speaker wire on canvas
variable
CP_FC_02


Jessica Jackson Hutchins and Conny Purtill
The Ground: K.O. M.A. R.I.P, 2016
encaustic, shirt, collage, ceramic, gesso, India ink, and pencil on canvas
22 x 17 inches
CP_JJH_02


Jay Heikes and Conny Purtill
The Ground: Z, 2015
asphaltum, gesso, India ink, and pencil on canvas
22 x 17 inches
JH_CP_02


Conny Purtill
The Ground: The Eagle, 2006
india ink, spray paint, gesso, and water color on canvas
22 x 17 inches
CP 20


Conny Purtill
The Ground: 2 drawings in “James Lee Byars: Perfect Is My Death Word”, 2010
graphite on book pages
CP 21


Conny Purtill
The Ground: 2 drawings in “A Drawing Show”, 2014
graphite on book pages
CP 22


Conny Purtill
The Ground: 3 drawings in “Sherrie Levine”, 2015
graphite on book pages
CP 24


Jason Rens
low wood object, 2016
common pine, edition of 50
16 x 32 x 12 inches
JRens_01


Conny Purtill
The Ground: On Rummy, 2016
collage
9 3/4 x 12 1/2 inches
CP 27


Conny Purtill
The Ground: Richard Rummy, 2012
collage
12 x 9 1/2 inches
CP 28


Conny Purtill
The Ground: Levitating Fox, 2013
graphite and chalk on paper
6 5/8 x 4 5/8 inches
CP 26


Conny Purtill
The Ground: Diamondback, 2016
graphite on found paper
7 5/8 x 5 inches
CP 25


Todd Norsten
Down the Rabbit Hole, 2016
archival pigment print
5 1/8 x 7 1/2 inches
edition of 3, 2 APs
TN_30


Ari Marcopoulos
L1033782, 2015
carbon pigment print on rice paper
7 3/4 x 11 1/2 inches
unique
AMar_01


Conny Purtill, Jay Heikes and Todd Norsten
The Ground: Blockhead, 2016
India ink, asphaltum, water based ink, gouache, and graphite on F.G.T.
7 1/4 x 17 inches
CP_JH_TN_02