At Morgan Lehman, Two Artists Exploring the Slippery Nature of Spatial Perception

Seeing the work of photographer Erin O’Keefe and painter Matt Kleberg side by side, it’s as if they are of one mind: the brightest orangey reds, the richest teals and greens, and the textured yellows; the crisp angles, the unexpected shapes, and the lively abstractions. Their current collaboration, a two-person exhibition titled Ecstatic Vernacular on view at Morgan Lehman in New York until May 19, is a conversation between the artists and their differing mediums. “Responding directly to each other’s work, O’Keefe and Kleberg muse on issues of pictorial architecture, the slippery nature of spatial perception, and the pure pleasure of color and light. The conversations between the two artists leading up to this show ranged from Oaxacan textiles to Renaissance painting, effortlessness as an ends, to the world as it is (or appears to be).” The outcomes are a mix of still-life setups and geometric trompe l’oeils, with a sense of humor and a real harmony between the large and small compositions.