Our DC Blog Contributor, Matthew Smith, has curated a fantastic group exhibition at Heiner Contemporary called, Concrete Abstract, which runs through April 20th. In the show, which includes artists Seth Adelsberger, Lisa Dillin, Jeremy Flick, Steven Frost, Sue Johnson, Becca Kallem, Patrick McDonough, Danielle Mysliwiec, and Matthew Smith, the curator "...explores the confluence of abstraction with the everyday" As the press release continues, "The works in the show cultivate a non-representational visual language that emerges from familiar ready-made objects, whether these objects are found or alluded to compositionally. Their formal and functional properties provide the contextual framework for works that are ultimately understood visually via their entanglement with abstraction, even as they remain securely tethered to the real, concrete world."

After the jump, see more images from the exhibition and read more from the press release.

Jeremy Flick | Contrapuntal Derivation no. 744703807, 2013, acrylic and gouache on panel, 8 x 8 inches

"Danielle Mysliwiec and Becca Kallem, both painters, make compositional use of the physical and decorative elements of textiles in their abstract works. Seth Adelsberger, also a painter, reimagines the functional properties of wooden stretcher bars in compositions that reference the legacy of geometric abstraction. Meanwhile, Sue Johnson’s drawings of fantastical shelves arrive at forms that begin to resemble the mystic symbols of abstract painters like Alfred Jensen and Simon Gouverneur.

Becca Kallem Goodwill | X, 2012, oil and acrylic on canvas, 10 x 8 inches. Courtesy Heiner Contemporary

Patrick McDonough uses his lawn chair sculptures to investigate the aesthetics of leisure, all the while the formal and color properties of his works also appear to take a stake in abstract art. Lisa Dillin is interested in the aesthetics of the “office-scape” and offers a kind of beautiful escape by abstracting the objects of our cubicle culture. Jeremy Flick proposes a similar type of redemption, sourcing the pixelated, low-quality digital patterns of "web-tiles" to produce abstract compositions. Conversely, Steven Frost’s assortment of embellished sex toys -- protests against traditional notions of good taste -- become investigations of abstracted color and form in their ornate departure from the norm."

All of the artists either live, work, or have exhibited extensively in the Washington, D.C. area.

Seth Adelsberger | Untitled (Stella Artois 2), 2012, pine Stretcher Bars, Brad Nails, Wood Glue (courtesy of Civilian Art Projects), 27.5 x 25 inches. Courtesy Heiner Contemporary

Sue Johnson | Designs for Imaginary Shelves (Sojourn in Venice), 2012-2013, watercolor and pencil on paper, 9 x 12 inches. Courtesy Heiner Contemporary

Danielle Mysliwiec | Crow's Nest, 2013, oil on panel, 18 x 18 inches

Matthew Smith | Yellow and White, 2012-2013, machine-stitched fabric, synthetic batting, wood, 32 x 22 inches. Courtesy Heiner Contemporary.

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Concrete Abstract will be on view at Heiner Contemporary March 1 – April 20, 2013. Heiner Contemporary is located at 1675 Wisconsin Avenue, NW.