Subtleism: Neha Vedpathak with Agnes Martin features a new body of work by Detroit-based artist Neha Vedpathak alongside important pieces by Agnes Martin, the great American painter often associated with Minimalism. Martin has been a principal influence on Vedpathak’s practice. On view in the exhibition are two paintings by Martin that exemplify her prolific and lifelong exploration of the grid, featuring her trademark muted colors created with a gentle, concentrated hand. They are displayed alongside a new body of work by Vedpathak featuring her unique technique of manipulating paper that she calls “plucking”. This is the third installment of Cranbrook Art Museum’s Fresh Paint exhibition series, which highlights a new body of work from a Detroit-area artist.

Born in India, Vedpathak has spent the past decade in Detroit continuing her unique technique of manipulating paper that she calls “plucking”. This time-consuming, labor-intensive process consists of creating countless incisions in painted, hand-made Japanese mulberry paper, which is known for its long, strong fibers. The result highlights questions of materiality, texture, and mark-making. Vedpathak views the act of plucking as meditative, a repetitive, ritualistic, and durational act conducted over long periods of time—often multiple months for larger pieces. In her work, Vedpathak asks the question: “When does the mundane become magical?”.

Vedpathak perceives many parallels between her practice and that of Agnes Martin. While writers have previously categorized her work as Minimalist, Vedpathak personally describes herself as a “subtleist.” On view are two paintings by Martin that exemplify her prolific and lifelong exploration of the grid in muted colors created with a gentle, concentrated hand. Martin likewise rejected the label of Minimalism and considered herself an Abstract Expressionist. The name of the exhibition—Subtleism—pushes back on such art historical categorizations, while allowing a contemporary artist to see Martin’s work through a different lens.

Subtleism: Neha Vedpathak with Agnes Martin is organized by Cranbrook Art Museum and curated by Laura Mott, Chief Curator, and Andrew Ruys de Perez, the former Jeanne and Ralph Graham Curatorial Fellow. The exhibition is generously supported by the Gilbert Family Foundation, the David Klein and Kate Ostrove Exhibition Fund, and Art Members of Cranbrook Art Museum.