BRUSSELS.- rodolphe janssen is presenting the first solo show of Dan McCarthy in the Brussels gallery, running from April 13th to May 20th 2023.

The exhibition brings together a new series of vivid and scintillating glazed ceramic sculptures that take the form of individual portraits, unfolding in a variety of colors and textures.

McCarthy’s ceramics are intentionally low-tech, simple and direct. His tools are minimal – ice lolly sticks, forks, spoons – with a process that favours touch; and what drives him is the emotionally intuitive handling of wet, heavy clay that is constantly in a state of drying out, instinctively working this material into shapes with a ‘sense of immediacy and buoyant spirit’.

Fittingly called Facepots, the often cheery - though sometimes rather sullen - vessels appear to hide a somehow darker undertone, one that points towards modes of vacuous consumerism that keep us smiling and jolly but, ultimately, hollow and empty.

These sculptures accompany a recent series of oil and water-based paint canvases starring condensed groups of people, with hands, feet and cherry faces intertwining in rainbow-coloured compositions.

Dan McCarthy (born in 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii USA, lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, NY USA)

Recent solo shows were held at Baldwin Gallery, Aspen, CO USA; rodolphe janssen, Knokke, Belgium; Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY USA; Venus over Los Angeles (Los Angeles); Anton Kern Gallery, New York, NY USA; Shoot the Lobster, New York, NY USA and Galerie Suzanne Tarasieve, Paris, France.

Recent group shows include 100 Sculptures, Anonymous Gallery, New York, NY USA; Can’t Wait To Meet You, This Is Primary, Miami, FL USA; Demons, Spirits and Other Creatures, Daniel Blau Gallery, Munich, Germany; Show 1, Airfield Gallery, Kingston, New York, NY USA; Pacific Coast Ceramics, Galeria Mascota, Aspen, CO USA; 6 Foot, Hot and Glassy, Tripoli Gallery, Wainscott, NY USA; The Essential Goods, Fisher Parrish Gallery, Brooklyn, NY USA; Pageant of Inconceivables, Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, Byrd cliffe, Woodstock, NY USA and Summer Trip, Tripoli Gallery of Contemporary Art, Southampton, NY USA.

His work is part of public collection such as ICA, Miami, FL USA; Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY USA; The Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens, Greece and Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, France.