2016 Catalogue Archive

In his most recent project, the DNA series, Chicago-based artist McArthur Binion incorporates personal data with the minimalist aesthetic he honed during his time in the SoHo art scene of the 1970s. For DNA: Black Painting: X, the artist’s Standard Certificate of Live Birth from Mississippi, printed in white text on black paper, alternates in a basket weave pattern, dividing the surface and burying his personal information behind embedded geometric shapes and the Modernist grid. Segments of information not blocked out by black and white oil stick marks reveal looped cursive handwriting and a typed document, which urges the viewer to scan for biographical details like Binion’s date of birth and parents’ names. Binion’s paintings are in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and he has gained increased attention since his well-received 2013 gallery show that reintroduced his work to the art world.