Tester #2 07-08-2017

07-28-2017
9.5" X 6"
Acrylic and Coal Dust on Acrylic Yarn on Painted Wood Chassis

Cerith Wyn Evans at Century Pictures

"Cerith Wyn Evans artistic practice focuses on how ideas can be communicated through form."

The beginning of an artist statement that isn't complete bullshit.

This past weekend, I was doing the Brooklyn Artist Studio's roundup, stopped by some galleries in the Bushwick section, found the new Koenig & Clinton space, stopped in, and in the project space Leo Koenig calls Century Pictures, there was the first work by Cerith that I have been able to catch in person. 

Having not known any of his work in person, and only seeing reproductions, my first thought after thinking and pondering the exhibition was, this fellas work should not be allowed to be reproduced on websites. It only does a quarter of the justice that viewing in person can give you. This particular work that Koenig installed, is a beautiful chandelier, which immediately drew my attention based...I believe...is roughly the same kind a friend of mine has installed in his home. Funny how things like that can happen. And I was able to see this chandelier just a couple weeks back for the first time. So in a way, this is my way of telling my friend that some famous artist is using the same chandelier he has as an artwork. Oh the funny things the universe does for those paying attention.

After the initial viewing was done, it was time to really get into the meat and potatoes of this piece. First off, if you have problems with strobing lights, this might not be the exhibition for you. But that depends on how much you can handle. As Evans has it in his practice that he likes to utilize Morse Code in some of his works, which give the work it's flashiness. Granted my brain didn't immediately go to Morse Code without it being revealed under the press release. But once I knew that, it made some pieces of the puzzle fall into place, and my interest grew.

One problem I've had with conceptual art over the years, is that so much of it is based on the idea, and past viewings have proven this to me, that the idea outweighs the actual artwork. This time it was definitely one and the same, the idea of morse code in a chandelier is brilliance. Especially one as beautiful as this work is.

I'm going to stop here and just put up some pics I took with my iphone4. I used to have a better LG G4 cameraphone, but like all G4 users, last april the phone died on all of us and now there is a big lawsuit against LG for this crap. So unfortunately the photos aren't as good as I could get, but you'll get enough with this to help you make up your mind to witness this exhibition for yourself. There is another show in the front of some wonderfully manipulated photographs from "Miljohn Ruperto & Ulrik Heltoft’s ongoing series, Voynich Botanical Studies. Carefully rendered by Ruperto and then manually printed by Heltoft, the otherworldly images of twenty unique ‘specimens’ have been inspired by the original Voynich Manuscript. This exhibition brings together the largest gathering of ‘specimens’ ever on view since the project commenced in 2013." (as quoted from the press release). Being that I am a fan of this manuscript, I was definitely intrigued by the exhibition. But Cerith's exhibition was the one that really grabbed me.

The exhibition is up till October 22nd. 1329 Willoughby AvenueBrooklyn, NY, 11237
(212) 334-7866

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Tester #1 05-20-2017

It was may of 2017 when the idea for this new series which I call Testers. I had been having conversations for a year or so with a couple friends about my work, and had people ask me about freestanding work. It was just a few days before the birth of this first Tester, that I finally had the inspiration which popped into my head late at night. Inspiration can find you working, but you don't HAVE to have the paint brush in your hand at the time. This idea came to me of an even smaller version of these, but in retrospect I felt it was a bit TOO small. The next day I began making this first one.

What I had been looking for was a way to give an opportunity to view both the front and back of the PAINT at the same time. And you now can do that with these. Looking from the front you can easily see through the entirety of the work, through the backside of the flipside and to the front again.

I have only 4 of these at the present, but there will definitely be a lot more of these in the future. I am already working on the next development of this body of work.

Please click the images to enlarge them. Enjoy, and Thank You.

05-20-2017
9.5" X 6" X 2"
Acrylic on Acrylic Yarn on Painted Wood Chassis









It's a beautiful day to be alive!

One last post....

It is only a few more days until I make my choice and put it to the pavement. Leaving Ohio once again for NYC. This time I am fully aware of my intentions and have let others know of them too. I'm coming for you, New Yorkers. For now I'll leave all my friends here with this wonderful clip from a great movie... ROUNDERS. This clip is Martin Landau talking about how destiny chooses us and how we need to follow what it has in mind for us.There is much wisdom in here for you. I truly look forward to seeing my friends and colleagues again. I look forward to hours upon hours of talking about art. I look forward to all the new art I will be able to immediately see and engage with. I look forward more to sharing my art with the world, as I know i'll be able to reach my goals so much faster in the art hub of the United States of America, a place where dreams come true.