THE MISSION | Houston is pleased to present Off the Grid, an exhibition of paintings, drawings, and constructions by artists of the Americas working in geometric abstraction. Included are works by Natalia Cacchiarelli, Gustavo Díaz, Curtis Gannon, Cecilia Jaime, Jeroen Nelemans, and Michelle Prazak, six artists who challenge the physicality of visual perception. Through the use of lines, concentric shapes, gradients, and transitioning colors, the artists assembled in Off the Grid elicit visual effects, afterimages, and the illusion of movement.

Natalia Cacchiarelli’s (b. 1971, Argentina) paintings oscillate between the repetition and reduction of formal elements. Unconcerned with any attempt at representation, her works irradiate a minimal aesthetic and investigate the very nature of painting itself. Cacchiarelli’s abstractions are thorough explorations of chromatic variation and her search for perfection of line and shape suggest obsession and repetition. Cacchiarelli lives and works in Buenos Aires.

Gustavo Díaz’s (b. 1969, Argentina) work sits at the intersection of science and aesthetics. He explores processes on micro and macro scales through systems theory, revealing their formal, functional, and operative properties. His meticulous, multilayered drawings and elaborately assembled, three-dimensional Plexiglas acrylic reliefs are rendered depictions of the visual intricacies of chaos, uncertainty, and imperfection. Díaz lives and works in Buenos Aires.

Curtis Gannon’s (b. 1974, Canada) work explores the structure and imagery of American action comics in the mediums of painting, collage, installation, and plexiglass constructions. Referencing the energetic color, line, and shape of comic book illustration, these abstractions examine the genre’s use of sequential narrative to suggest time, action, perspective, and a sense of perpetual expectation. He lives and works in Houston.

Cecilia Jaime’s (b. 1968, Mexico) work ranges from painting to abstract composition. She uses multiple materials, always with a modern and provocative proposal. Active from an early age in the visual arts, she has explored multiple innovative techniques. Her exhibition history includes solo and group exhibitions in Guadalajara, Monterrey and Dallas. She lives and works in Guadalajara.

Jeroen Nelemans’s (b. 1974, Netherlands) artistic practice is rooted in an ongoing investigation of the construct of an image, specifically how digital images can be manipulated to contemporary notions of sight and seeing. Nelemans appropriates imagery pilfered from Internet search queries and employs digital technology to investigate the “lifespan” of an image, its origin, and its history. He lives and works in Chicago.

Michelle Prazak’s (b. 1977, Peru) interest lies fundamentally in the immaterial and multi-dimensional aspects of space and time. Through her investigation of the dynamic interplay between line, shape and form, as well as through her careful exploration of the interaction of color and the subtle use of tone, Michelle’s work addresses issues of spatial relations, perspective, and perception of reality. Prazak lives and works in Lima.

Off the Grid opens at THE MISSION | Houston on Friday, May 30 and continues through Saturday, July 12, 2014. For more information, please contact Sarah Busch at sarahb@themissionprojects.com or 713-874-1182.