divert: a path shifted to undefined destinations, possibilities and chance.
CULT | Aimee Friberg Exhibitions is pleased to present divert (out of line), a solo exhibition by Los Angeles based collaborative team— twins, Joseph and John Dumbacher. divert (out of line), the artists first solo exhibition with the gallery, explores positive and negative space, mark-making, and stillness as content.
The Dumbacher’s material practice varies greatly in scope, weight and scale, from works in solid machined aluminum, to matte wallpaper, shoelaces and raw ink markings. Collectively, and individually, the sculptures and marks point to an embodied potential, pregnant with pause and punctuated by the in-between. Bold architectural responses acquiesce with what appear to be material remnants. Rudimentary and commonplace materials are used to shift perspective; slight alterations suggest profound shifts in spatial perception. In the drawings, systems, repetition and practice are employed to generate spare lines. The paper is pulled while one brother holds a marker stationary, resulting in streaks of ink. Generous open areas highlight the simple marks. Stillness is provoked and intentionally incomplete forms propel the question, “what if?”
The sculptural works, while certainly evoking the traditions of Minimalism with their use of industrial aluminum and unitary geometry, in conversation with the drawings and site-specific space explorations, provoke another reading. A fractional sequence of metal parts, swaths of wallpaper, tethered shoelaces, and raw ink markings—ordinary, human gestures whose loose, irregular, asymmetrical, monochrome lines convey a sense of random assemblage. Free of boundaries, the streaks and shapes float in vast areas of untouched space as though waiting.
Joseph Dumbacher and John Dumbacher, fraternal twins, work and live in Pasadena, CA and New York, NY. Early on they decided to collaborate rather than pursue art individually. They have had solo exhibitions with the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; Patricia Faure Gallery in Santa Monica, CA; both Curator’s Office and Fusebox in Washington, DC, and BackroomNY in New York, NY. They have been in numerous group exhibitions including: Revelation at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC; 1950s To Today: Highlights From The Permanent Collection at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC; Chromaluxe at California State University, Los Angeles; New Art Event at Ulrich Museum of Art in Wichita, KS; Craigslist at Civilian Arts Project in Washington DC; Landscaping at Fusebox Gallery in Washington, DC; Mixology II: Photography at Curator’s Office in Washington, DC; Made at Post Gallery inLos Angeles, CA; and Tinseltown at Domestic Setting in Los Angeles, CA. Their work has been published in Sculpture magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Tema Celeste, and numerous other publications. The Debaucher’s work is in the permanent collections at: the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, KS; and the Friends of Art and Preservation in Embassies, Washington, DC. Both Joe and John hold MBA degrees from the University of Southern California.