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PRESS
RELEASE
February
3 - March 2, 2004
JOHN
DAHLSEN
RENEWED
OPENING
RECEPTION:
TUESDAY | FEB.
3 , 2004 |
6-8PM
From
February 3 to March 2, 2004 Gallery @49 presents
the first solo show in New York by one of Australia's
leading environmental artists, JOHN DAHLSEN.
Curated by Stefania Carrozzini of D'Ars International,
the exhibition includes a selection of over
20 assemblages and sculptures created exclusively
from non-art elements such as found objects
and junk. An opening reception will be held
at the gallery on Tuesday February 3, from 6:00
to 8:00 pm.
John
Dahlsen is part of a new generation of contemporary
artists who have with wit and imagination incorporated
recycled materials into their artwork, aesthetically
addressing current environmental issues. The
title of the show, "Renewed" gives
away what the viewer comes to see - the transformation
of thousands of pieces of trash into abstract
wall assemblages, sculptures, suspended installations
and photographs.
Drawing
on a vocabulary of forms and colors provided
by such humble materials as plastics, Styrofoam,
nylon rope, thongs, rubber and plastic bags,
Dahlsen creates newness and value from what
were once worthless ordinary things.
Based
in Byron Bay, Australia, John Dahlsen collects
much of his raw material from the Eastern seaboard
near his home. Although he started out as a
figurative painter, he began working in the
found object medium in 1997 when he accidentally
stumbled upon a vast amount of plastic ocean
debris. The colors, patterns and shapes of these
objects had an immediate effect. As he recalls,
"I had never seen such hues and forms before.
Since then, I have scoured Australian beaches
for found objects which I bring back to my studio
to sift, sort, and color-code. As I work with
them in my studio I become even more fascinated
by the way they have been modified and weathered
by the ocean and nature's elements. My challenge
as an artist is to take these objects, which
might on first meeting have no apparent dialogue,
and to work with them until they speak and tell
their story."
Dahlsen's
assemblages are as much about their materials
as anything else and each transformed object
is a
carrier of memory, containing a vestige of its
"first life". This layered richness
and narrative aspects of old objects offer not
only a record of time, but a visual and tactile
link to it. The result is often a visual pun
over an unexpected connection or transformation
and a thong or old plastic bag acquires a metaphorical
or ironical quality and becomes emblematic of
human history and experience.
There
is indeed a heroic value in the sense of rescue
that accompanies John Dahlsen's work of recycled
art. Implicitly or explicitly, all his assemblages
are about environmentalism, and talk about the
new exciting adventure of using the wealth of
solid waste produced by our 'throw-away' societies
into the world of art.
John
Dahlsen studied art in Melbourne at the Victorian
College of the Arts. For the past twenty-five
years he had extensively exhibited throughout
Australia and internationally, his work being
awarded numerous prizes, such as the prestigious
"Wynne Prize" at the Art Gallery of
New South Wales and more recently at the 2003
Florence Biennial. Regarded as Australia's leading
environmental artist, Dahlsen has lectured at
many Australian universities and has been an
invited speaker at architectural and environmental
symposiums both in Australia and abroad. In
2000 he has been appointed "Official Artist
of the New Millennium" for the environmental
organizations "Clean up Australia"
and "Clean up the World". John Dahlsen's
work is represented in major public and corporate
collections across Australia, Europe and Japan.
Gallery@49
is located at 322 West 49th Street (between
8th and 9th Avenues). Gallery Hours are Tuesday
– Saturday 12- 6 pm. For additional information
or visual material please call (212) 767-0855
or e-mail: info@gallery49.com
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