SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Gallery 16 is presenting Stacking Stones, an exhibition of new paintings by Tennessee-based artist, Jered Sprecher. The exhibition is on view from September 5 – October 17, 2014.

The title, Stacking Stones, pays homage to the basic human act of placing stone upon stone. “Some- times each stone is chosen and thoughtfully nestled into its [roper place, while other times stones are haphazardly piled one on top of another. Some stacked structures have lasted for centuries, yet others have crumbled. There is a simple elegance to each one. Rock upon rock, stone upon stone. Piling, filling, locking into place through friction and gravity.”

This body of work began during the summer of 2013 while Sprecher was an Artist-in-Residence at The Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. “My time in Marfa last summer was highlighted by the presence of rocks and stones. The vegetation there is incredibly sparse. Rocks are not hidden by the plants or deep topsoil. You notice the stones, you start to pick them up and collect them, sliding them into your pockets, feeling each one in your hand.”

Many of the paintings in this exhibition are based on a single stock photograph of three doves nesting on a cliff. This photograph was on the cover of Sprecher’s family photo album. “The image is both com- pletely mundane and fascinating at the same time (like a stone). That single image forms the underlying DNA for many of these paintings. Or rather it provided the stones for stacking. Some stones are stacked for piles, some to mark a grave, some to show the path, some to set a boundary, some are mysteries, some are walls.” The exhibition also includes “stones” such as windows, the fireplace, diamonds and the passionflower, which have become a familiar part of Sprecher’s vocabulary of forms.

Sprecher is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He was the recip- ient of a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 2009 and was an Art- ist-in-Residence at The Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas in 2013. Sprecher’s exhibitions include shows at The Drawing Center, the Weatherspoon Museum of Art, the Hunter Museum of American Art, Espai d’art contemporani de Castello, and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art. Sprecher has been an artist in residence at the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. His galler- ies include Steven Zevitas Gallery in Boston and Jeff Bailey Gallery in New York. Sprecher’s work is held in numerous private and public collections.