BRET SLATER
Pump Fake
October 22 through December 4, 2010

Thomas Robertello Gallery is pleased to present Pump Fake, an exhibition of work by Bret Slater, October 22 through December 4, 2010 in the gallery's project space. Slater's abstract paintings, tape-on-wall installations, and assemblages combining drywall, cardboard, and other low-tech materials are a handyman's nightmare of subverted utility. Combining his own brand of feckless minimalism with a Forrest Gump-like countenance, Slater manages to imbue each piece with poise and charm -- or poison charm? The material banality of his work belies its captivating dignity, and suddenly the heightened intrigue of tape on a wall normally reserved for a drug induced experience commands scrutiny. The work rejects authority, and avoids traps leading to art historical references, all the while possessing extensive knowledge of the likes of Blinky Palermo, Kurt Schwitters, and Richard Tuttle, among many others. Slater's work is lousy with paradoxes leading, diverting, and ultimately revealing lithe sincerity. In addition, heavily considered formal qualities and madcap construction decisions completely emulsify.

Bret Slater received a BFA from SUNY Purchase School of Art + Design in 2009 and is an MFA candidate (2011) at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Upcoming exhibitions include a solo show at the Free Museum of Dallas in November.