White Columns Online #19:
Fragments are the only forms I trust
curated by Louis-Philippe Van Eeckhoutte

February 14, 2022–March 5, 2022 Online
Two women with hidden faces speak at a table in front of a light blue background. In the foreground there is a striped tablecloth, a potted plant, a mug and spoon resting on a saucer, and a copy of “O” magazine.

Scott Marvel Cassidy
Marketa and Maria, 2020.
Oil on canvas
22.5 × 27 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

An image of a worn record sleeve. A small multicolored image on the center of the cover has been partially erased, leaving behind an abstract, kaleidoscopic pattern.

Ajit Chauhan
Untitled, 2019.
Erased record cover
12 × 12 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

Four vertically stacked transparent compartments rest on a concrete floor. A green structure is inside the top compartment, and an orange slab is in the bottom. Two parallel metal rods connect the structures.

Morgan Canavan
Without audience, stressed internally, 2020.
Plexiglass, pigmented resin, stainless steel
5.625 × 1.25 × 5.8125 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

An opened newspaper page lays on a concrete floor. Two large parts of the page are cut out, leaving empty spaces.

Morgan Canavan
27 February/28 February 2016; 27 February/28 February 2016, 2016.
UV print on stainless steel
26 × 21.5 × 1.5 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

A dirty, rusted sink with a yellow tray and a green bucket in the left basin and water running from the faucet into the right. A white-pained stone wall is in the background, and cleaning tools, pipes, and cords surround the sink.

Scott Marvel Cassidy
Duluth Sink, 2020.
Oil on canvas
16 × 20 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

An abstract painting with a vertical, blue field on the left. The right is primarily painted a yellowish white with one horizontal stripe of brown near the top and a diagonal gray stripe angled downwards toward the center.

Julia Goldman
Door, 2021.
Oil on canvas
32 × 30 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

A close-up view of a couch. The cushions are white, and there is a green, botanical-looking zigzagged line on the seat.

Julia Goldman
Couch, another, painted, 2021.
Oil on canvas
30 × 36 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

A hand extends palm-up from the bottom right corner, holding two unpicked round fruits. The image is framed by a large white border.

Edward Givis
Untitled ‘fruit’, 2020.
Graphite on paper
Image: 6.125 × 4.25 in. Sheet: 9 × 12 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

A metal screw is shown close-up, with only the threads and tip in frame. Light from the upper left illuminates the threads and creates a reflection on the surface that the screw sits on. A large white border frames the drawing.

Edward Givis
Untitled ‘screw’, 2021.
Graphite on paper
Image: 4.5625 × 6 in. Sheet: 9 × 12 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

A close-up drawing of a bare chest and neck is framed by a large white border. The subject has a hairy chest and wears a fine metal chain. Light pouring in from the top right casts a shadow on the left portion of the subject’s neck.

Edward Givis
Untitled ‘chain’, 2020.
Graphite on paper
Image: 4.6875 × 6.625 in. Sheet: 9 × 12 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

A close-up drawing of the top of a person’s wrist is framed by a large white border. There are prominent veins and dark hair.

Edward Givis
Untitled ‘pump’, 2020.
Graphite on paper
Image: 3.75 × 5.5 in. Sheet: 9 × 12 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

A folded, text-heavy newspaper page sits on a concrete floor. The second fold is inverted from the original crease produced in its manufacture so that it remains agape.

Morgan Canavan
20 February/21 February 2016; 20 February/21 February 2016, 2016.
UV print on stainless steel
13 × 12 × 3.5 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

An exterior shot of a tripartite window with heavily weathered, white frames. Inside the window there are thin white curtains, and the exterior of a house, a white truck, and a basketball hoop are shown in the reflection of the glass.

Amy Ritter
Montray Heights 2, 2020.
Photographic Xerox print mounted to OSB plywood panel
41.5 × 69.5 × .5 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

An exterior shot of two adjacent, metal-framed windows. An air-conditioning unit is in the left window, and white curtains are pressed up against the glass from inside. Bare tree branches are reflected at the top.

Amy Ritter
Li’l Wolf 4, 2020.
Photographic Xerox print mounted to OSB plywood panel
48.75 × 45.5 × .5 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

A painting of a tree stump surrounded by dried foliage, dead grass, soil, and branches. In the background, there is a clear blue sky.

Scott Marvel Cassidy
Landscape With Tree, 2020.
Oil on canvas.
20 × 29 in.
Courtesy of the artist.

An image of a beige record sleeve. There is a multicolored image in the center that has been partially erased in an abstract pattern, mimicking a floral motif.

Ajit Chauhan
Lily Tomlin / On Stage, Erased record cover, 2019.
Courtesy of the artist.

Participating Artists

Morgan Canavan
Scott Marvel Cassidy
Ajit Chauhan
Edward Givis
Julia Goldman
Amy Ritter

Exhibition Description

We can only touch on a surface, which is to say the skin or thin peel of a limit.
– Jacques Derrida

The selected works present fragments that focus on intersecting themes of memory, touch, and the immediate physical environment.

The fragments suggest that they are part of something bigger and that, if brought together, can give us intimate views into the personal histories of their makers. We are surrounded by fragments and memories of a life lived. They tell stories in pieces weighted with emotion and significance. Recorded and unrecorded moments weave together through scenes and revelations of the narrator’s life.

We can’t touch without being touched. When we grasp or brush against an object, we are as close to it as we can possibly be. Touch often leaves a memory trace — without much conscious awareness — that persists long after the physical sensation is gone. We may not be able to express how something felt, but we will be able to recognize it by holding or seeing it again. By creating replicas of reality, memories become objects in the artists’ imagination. They isolate elements like windows, screws, plants, car door handles, album covers, or newspapers as imperfect traces of the past. The visual immediacy and resonance of these objects are the starting point for an exploration in introspection.

Louis-Philippe Van Eeckhoutte is a curator based in Belgium. Since 2020 he has been a guest lecturer at the Royal College of Art in London. He is the founder of the online interview series Drawing Room Play. He was curator of the first edition of Generation Brussels and co-curator of the 7th edition of Currents at Z33 in Hasselt. He has curated projects for dépendance, Brussels and Carlier Gebauer, Berlin and was a member of the acquisition committee for The Constant Glitch at M Leuven.

This exhibition is the ninteenth in a series of online exhibitions curated exclusively from White Columns’ Curated Artist Registry.

Two women with hidden faces speak at a table in front of a light blue background. In the foreground there is a striped tablecloth, a potted plant, a mug and spoon resting on a saucer, and a copy of “O” magazine.
An image of a worn record sleeve. A small multicolored image on the center of the cover has been partially erased, leaving behind an abstract, kaleidoscopic pattern.
Four vertically stacked transparent compartments rest on a concrete floor. A green structure is inside the top compartment, and an orange slab is in the bottom. Two parallel metal rods connect the structures.
An opened newspaper page lays on a concrete floor. Two large parts of the page are cut out, leaving empty spaces.
A dirty, rusted sink with a yellow tray and a green bucket in the left basin and water running from the faucet into the right. A white-pained stone wall is in the background, and cleaning tools, pipes, and cords surround the sink.
An abstract painting with a vertical, blue field on the left. The right is primarily painted a yellowish white with one horizontal stripe of brown near the top and a diagonal gray stripe angled downwards toward the center.
A close-up view of a couch. The cushions are white, and there is a green, botanical-looking zigzagged line on the seat.
A hand extends palm-up from the bottom right corner, holding two unpicked round fruits. The image is framed by a large white border.
A metal screw is shown close-up, with only the threads and tip in frame. Light from the upper left illuminates the threads and creates a reflection on the surface that the screw sits on. A large white border frames the drawing.
A close-up drawing of a bare chest and neck is framed by a large white border. The subject has a hairy chest and wears a fine metal chain. Light pouring in from the top right casts a shadow on the left portion of the subject’s neck.
A close-up drawing of the top of a person’s wrist is framed by a large white border. There are prominent veins and dark hair.
A folded, text-heavy newspaper page sits on a concrete floor. The second fold is inverted from the original crease produced in its manufacture so that it remains agape.
An exterior shot of a tripartite window with heavily weathered, white frames. Inside the window there are thin white curtains, and the exterior of a house, a white truck, and a basketball hoop are shown in the reflection of the glass.
An exterior shot of two adjacent, metal-framed windows. An air-conditioning unit is in the left window, and white curtains are pressed up against the glass from inside. Bare tree branches are reflected at the top.
A painting of a tree stump surrounded by dried foliage, dead grass, soil, and branches. In the background, there is a clear blue sky.
An image of a beige record sleeve. There is a multicolored image in the center that has been partially erased in an abstract pattern, mimicking a floral motif.

Scott Marvel Cassidy, Marketa and Maria, 2020 Oil on canvas 22.5 × 27 in. Courtesy of the artist. (Two women with hidden faces speak at a table in front of a light blue background. In the foreground there is a striped tablecloth, a potted plant, a mug and spoon resting on a saucer, and a copy of “O” magazine.)

Ajit Chauhan, Untitled, 2019. Erased record cover 12 × 12 in. Courtesy of the artist. (An image of a worn record sleeve. A small multicolored image on the center of the cover has been partially erased, leaving behind an abstract, kaleidoscopic pattern.)

Morgan Canavan, Without audience, stressed internally, 2020. Plexiglass, pigmented resin, stainless steel 5.625 × 1.25 × 5.8125 in. Courtesy of the artist. (Four vertically stacked transparent compartments rest on a concrete floor. A green structure is inside the top compartment, and an orange slab is in the bottom. Two parallel metal rods connect the structures.)

Morgan Canavan, 27 February/28 February 2016; 27 February/28 February 2016, 2016. UV print on stainless steel 26 × 21.5 × 1.5 in. Courtesy of the artist. (An opened newspaper page lays on a concrete floor. Two large parts of the page are cut out, leaving empty spaces.)

Scott Marvel Cassidy, Duluth Sink, 2020 Oil on canvas 16 × 20 in. Courtesy of the artist. (A dirty, rusted sink with a yellow tray and a green bucket in the left basin and water running from the faucet into the right. A white-pained stone wall is in the background, and cleaning tools, pipes, and cords surround the sink.)

Julia Goldman, Door, 2021. Oil on canvas 32 × 30 in. Courtesy of the artist. (An abstract painting with a vertical, blue field on the left. The right is primarily painted a yellowish white with one horizontal stripe of brown near the top and a diagonal gray stripe angled downwards toward the center.)

Julia Goldman, Couch, another, painted, 2021. Oil on canvas 30 × 36 in. Courtesy of the artist. (A close-up view of a couch. The cushions are white, and there is a green, botanical-looking zigzagged line on the seat.)

Edward Givis, Untitled ‘fruit’, 2020. Graphite on paper Image: 6.125 × 4.25 in. Sheet: 9 × 12 in. Courtesy of the artist. (A hand extends palm-up from the bottom right corner, holding two unpicked round fruits. The image is framed by a large white border.)

Edward Givis, Untitled ‘screw’, 2021.Graphite on paper Image: 4.5625 × 6 in. Sheet: 9 × 12 in. Courtesy of the artist. (A metal screw is shown close-up, with only the threads and tip in frame. Light from the upper left illuminates the threads and creates a reflection on the surface that the screw sits on. A large white border frames the drawing.)

Edward Givis, Untitled ‘chain’, 2020. Graphite on paper Image: 4.6875 × 6.625 in. Sheet: 9 × 12 in. Courtesy of the artist. (A close-up drawing of a bare chest and neck is framed by a large white border. The subject has a hairy chest and wears a fine metal chain. Light pouring in from the top right casts a shadow on the left portion of the subject’s neck.)

Edward Givis, Untitled ‘pump’, 2020. Graphite on paper Image: 3.75 × 5.5 in. Sheet: 9 × 12 in. Courtesy of the artist. (A close-up drawing of the top of a person’s wrist is framed by a large white border. There are prominent veins and dark hair.)

Morgan Canavan, 20 February/21 February 2016; 20 February/21 February 2016, 2016. UV print on stainless steel 13 × 12 × 3.5 in. Courtesy of the artist. (A folded, text-heavy newspaper page sits on a concrete floor. The second fold is inverted from the original crease produced in its manufacture so that it remains agape.)

Amy Ritter, Montray Heights 2, 2020. Photographic Xerox print mounted to OSB plywood panel 41.5 × 69.5 × .5 in. Courtesy of the artist. (An exterior shot of a tripartite window with heavily weathered, white frames. Inside the window there are thin white curtains, and the exterior of a house, a white truck, and a basketball hoop are shown in the reflection of the glass.)

Amy Ritter, Li’l Wolf 4, 2020. Photographic Xerox print mounted to OSB plywood panel 48.75 × 45.5 × .5 in. Courtesy of the artist. (An exterior shot of two adjacent, metal-framed windows. An air-conditioning unit is in the left window, and white curtains are pressed up against the glass from inside. Bare tree branches are reflected at the top.)

Scott Marvel Cassidy, Landscape With Tree, 2020. Oil on canvas. 20 × 29 in. Courtesy of the artist. (A painting of a tree stump surrounded by dried foliage, dead grass, soil, and branches. In the background, there is a clear blue sky.)

Ajit Chauhan, Lily Tomlin / On Stage, Erased record cover, 2019. Courtesy of the artist. (An image of a beige record sleeve. There is a multicolored image in the center that has been partially erased in an abstract pattern, mimicking a floral motif.)