“Things that are logical have a precise fundamental axiom that runs through them. If you can’t trace something back to its specific foundation then you’re all over the place. The work is about the precision of logic.” – John Henry

Jim Kempner Fine Art is pleased to announce its first solo exhibition with the internationally acclaimed sculptor John Henry. Precision/Logic features a selection of sculpture spanning 2006 to 2014, showcasing the artist’s new developments in sculptural engineering. This body of work reveals the precision that is trademark of Henry’s signature style. Precision/ Logic will be on view from May 22nd through June 19th, 2014, with an opening reception on May 22nd, 6-8pm, with the artist present.

The exhibition presents the evolution of John Henry’s sculpture in recent years. The geometric forms that have defined John’s work for more than forty years have their aesthetic and historical base in Constructivism. Influenced by Alexander Calder, Mies van der Rohe, Mark di Suvero, Kenneth Snelson, László Moholy-Nagy, and Vladimir Tatlin, Henry has developed a unique and selective aesthetic that harnesses the unity of painting, sculpture, and architecture. With a Bauhaus sensibility for design, Henry has developed a mastery over the principles of structure, balance, and equilibrium. The smaller finished pieces, such as Torque and Symplexus, are investigations into ideas of parts and relationships. These studies allow the artist to explore the elements necessary to realize a conceptualized idea in its large form. Henry’s monumental work reflects his understanding of the relationship between sculpture and architecture. Lady, a 43-foot tall, red steel sculpture standing in the gallery’s sculpture garden, embodies the physical energy and industrial fluidity that largely defines Henry’s large-scale pieces. This will be the largest work shown in the gallery’s sculpture garden to date.

The sculptures are made from machined aluminum or welded steel which is subsequently coated in automotive paint. The use of color on the sculpture evolved over time as a means of contrasting a piece with its environment. Henry views his work as process-based, largely a dialogue that encourages the constant ability to change and transform the form as it grows from machete to monumental.

John Henry was born in 1943 in Lexington, Kentucky and currently lives and works in Tennessee. He studied at the University of Kentucky, University of Chicago, and received his B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has taught at the University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since 1991 he has served on the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation for Advancements in the Arts. He has also served on the Board of the International Sculpture Center since 1996 and was a founding member of ConStruct.

John Henry is known worldwide for his large-scale public works of art. His work resides in the collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; British Musem, London; Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga; Sonje Museum Contemporary Art, Korea; St. Petersburg Art Museum, St. Petersburg; Miami Art Museum, Miami, among many other public and private collections.

For more information please contact Dru Arstark at [email protected] or Sarah Bielicky at [email protected].