Ron Gorchov's 'Double Trouble' Exhibition at MoMA P.S. 1 Showcases Signature Shaped Canvases

From June 25 to November 20, 2006, Ron Gorchov presented 'Double Trouble' at MoMA P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens, New York, USA. The exhibition, organized by founder and director Alanna Heiss, featured 27 works, including 11 on his distinctive curved supports and smaller striped canvases. Gorchov's oil-on-linen pieces, stapled to bent wooden stretchers, blend sculptural and painterly qualities, with shapes evoking saddles, masks, or shields. The show juxtaposed pieces from the 1970s and the prior five years, skipping the 1980s and 1990s, marking a homecoming for the artist, who participated in P.S. 1's 1976 inaugural 'Rooms' exhibition and had a solo show there in 1979. His recent resurgence followed a 2005 show organized by Vito Schnabel in a temporary downtown space. Paintings like '5th One' (2006) display geometric ovals against expressive grounds, while 'Palais Jamais (Who's Afraid of Purple and Green)' (2005) features irregular forms. Other works, such as 'Amphora' (1975) and 'Ausonian' (2006), suggest figural elements like legs or footprints. The exhibition's varied forms, from flint-like shapes in 'Rejiv' (2005) to calligraphic gestures in 'Gigue' (2000), create a dynamic and energized display. Gorchov's idiom, compared to Elizabeth Murray's shaped supports and the Eames chair's plywood seat, conveys a range of emotions without becoming repetitive.