Swarm Gallery presents

THE SUM OF ITS PARTS | Gallery Artists

August 1 - 31, 2008
Artist Reception | Friday, August 1, 2008, 6-8PM

Laura Ball, Rodeo Race (2007), Watercolor on paper, 20 x 16 inches

Erik Friedman, 44th Street Crasher (2008), Ink and gouache on Duralene, 55.5 x 40 inches

One challenge in applying the Law of Identity to an entity is in determining what exactly an entity is. It is important to note, though, that identities are based on the identities of their constituent parts, and how they are combined together. The identity of an entity composed of other entities can be fully explained by reference to the identity of the building blocks, and how they are interacting. A house can be explained by reference to the wood, metal, and glass that are combined in that particular way to form the house.

Swarm Gallery is proud of its constituent parts, the gallery artists that form its exhibition program. Now in its 3rd year, the gallery continues to define and identify itself, working with and bringing in new artists to present a combination of work evocative of its curatorial practices. This show presents a selection of work by the gallery artists, existing and forthcoming.

Participating artists: Laura Ball, Tia Factor, Erik Friedman, Mayumi Hamanaka, Andrew Junge, Eileen Starr-Moderbacher, Jake Watling

Available works

This exhibition will show a sampling from our inventory. To see a complete inventory of Gallery Artists, click here.

PROJECT SPACE

My Closet In a Plain Brown Wrapper
by TERRY FURRY in the Project Space

Terry Furry, Brief (2008), Ink, pencil, acrylic, gesso on brown paper covered panels, 10 x 22 inches, SOLD

Statement

CLOS.ET - noun
1. A cabinet or enclosed recess for linens, household supplies, or clothing.
2. A water closet; a toilet.
3. A state of secrecy or cautious privacy

PLAIN BROWN WRAPPER
Once considered an embarrassment to shop for certain products and books at your local drug, discount store, or from the back pages of adult magazines, manufacturers and distributors offered discrete home delivery in plain brown packaging that came with no one the wiser about what's inside that ominous box.

This project developed from my need to return to my drawing roots on a smaller scale, keeping the purity of select and basic materials. The subject matter evolved from my previous series of large oil paintings of a slight erotic nature showing men in various states of undress and self-pleasure. I found in painting the series that what captivated me most was the fabric, which to me often appeared more alive than the flesh. In my current work, I wanted to expand on the simplicity of the subject, deconstruction of form and topographical effect, which the eye pulls together into realism. The plain brown paper initially was in response to puritanical views of my erotic work. The question I posed to myself was - Could sexuality still be evident in the clothes we wear and the object we hold onto even if white-washed and "covered in plain brown wrapping"?

A closet seemed to be the perfect home for drawings of wrinkled clothes and objects not normally hung from hangers. The closet and brown paper wrapping, a convenient metaphor for intentional order and purposeful disarray of secrets and memories.

Terry Furry, Superman (2008), Ink, pencil, acrylic, gesso on brown paper covered panels, 20 x 30 inches, SOLD

Terry Furry
Biography

My family's business is cutting down trees. Tumbling down giant Douglas Firs, blasting away at serene landscapes, and leaving behind barren hillsides is what put food on our table. Being a lumberman and being good at Sports were the skills most valued in my family; skills I never desired to master. My childhood refuge was seeking solitude and creating art. I would frequently hide from visiting relatives, locking myself away to draw. My mother was newspaper woman, so there was never a shortage of "end rolls" to draw on. I also found the pristine white cardboard inserts from her nylon hose packaging an excellent canvas.

As I grew up, my family gradually gave up hopes that I would continue in the lumber business, or become a famous baseball player, or whatever path they had determined they'd be proud to see me walk. My responsibilities among the lumber crews lessened to fire prevention detail, I abandoned a potential sports career, and I instead held true to my passion: making art.

But as it so often is with families, you look back decades later from a life you thought you had successfully fled, only to see you never quite left it. I now enjoy a successful career in the newspaper industry just as my mother had, and I find myself still inspired creatively by those newspaper rolls and nylon hose packaging of my preteen years.

Available Works: