"This latest body of work represents some of Stashkevetch's most complex
drawings to date. The subject matter—thousands of river-washed pebbles
and rocky debris, lacy treetops emerging from the mist and striated
mountains covered in snow—is executed with a painstaking level of intricacy
and detail.
Stashkevetch develops his large-scale black and white compositions
gradually, employing his signature technique. In progressive stages, the
paper's surface is sanded away as the image is built up with conte crayon.
The conte bonds to the paper, and the two materials become one. The
process, both additive and reductive, creates an atmospheric quality in
which light and shadow are in constant play.
Time is palpable in these monumental works. This is owed in part to the
imagery, which alludes to the enduring history and cyclical nature of our
planet. Yet the subject matter itself, the 'what' and the 'where,' becomes
secondary. Standing before the work, one's focus shifts instead to the
patterns embedded in the surface of the paper and the sheer breadth of
Stashkevetch's compositions. Each mark is emblematic of the artist's time as
the drawings break down and become as abstract as time itself. The
imagery, while striking in its beauty, is merely a framework upon which
Stashkevetch masterfully builds his effects.
Born in the United States, Joseph Stashkevetch studied at the Rhode Island
School of Design. The artist's work has been exhibited extensively in the
United States and Europe and appears in numerous public and private
collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Dallas
Museum of Art. The artist lives and works in New York. This exhibition
marks the artist's fourth solo show with Von Lintel Gallery."
