Ian Pedigo, “Titanium Pro”

Installation view

Photograph: Courtesy klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery

Since his breakout turn in several New York group shows last summer, Ian Pedigo has continued to build a solid reputation for abstract works that rise above the common materials used to create them—cast-off Formica, wood, tape, gels, cloth, carpets and pages appropriated from magazines and calendars that almost always register as a little worse for wear, even after their “Extreme Makeover (Art Edition).” Pedigo’s quandary here? Being misconstrued as merely repeating himself to make six new sculptures and collages for his most recent solo show.

Pedigo does well to stay the course, however, as large works like Putting a Dark Cloud On best attest. Cleverly hung near the gallery’s storefront window, the piece features a gel-covered opening that literally diffuses the light while a floral swatch playfully channels the likes of Monet and Van Gogh. If Already No Longer the Same—a diminutive floor piece made of flat wood cutouts layered and truncated by a wedge of Formica—appears modest by comparison, standouts like Saying it was Disproportionate and Summit Associates effectively showcase how Pedigo transforms materials with startling economy.

By continuing to focus on surface treatment, Pedigo questions how objects that lay claim to being art (perhaps even his own) are suspect at best. Luckily, “Titanium Pro” also makes clear that Pedigo understands the difference between lapsing into redundancy and creating an expansive, if precise, formal language—a clear sign that whatever he does next will be worth the wait.

—Ingrid Chu