Thursday, November 12, 2009

AWAY FROM TIME - Proximity Gallery - First Friday, December




CHRIS CLARK
AWAY FROM TIME
Opening Reception December 4, 2009 6pm-9pm

Proximity Gallery is pleased to present “Away From Time,” an exhibition of new collages and screen prints by Fishtown based artist Chris Clark. This is Clark’s second solo show with Proximity and his third solo show of 2009.

"Away from Time" continues Clark’s message of being environmentally conscious. For this show his interest in street art and spray paint stenciling is more apparent than ever. He is also working larger and a few pieces are on alternative surfaces. Besides his typical wood panels, this show includes three collaged skate decks (recycled from a local skate shop) and two collaged table tops.

Organic and manufactured forms along with portions of text and images from blueprints & diagrams are fantastically layered to create environments that feel engineered and beautifully toxic. In many of these works there is a sense of expectation that some sort of powerful event might occur. The objects could be anywhere, and the complex physically worked surfaces can become so dense that there is little room for anything else. His blending of organic forms with manufactured surfaces suggests technology run amok and a natural world in accelerated flux. These richly layered and obsessively detailed environments leave you with a feeling of being taken out of time as well as out of place.

Clark has been approaching environmental issues in a variety of powerful ways. In October, Clark was asked to participate in a traveling exhibition "Eco-Expression: Art for Sustainability." The exhibition functioned as an inspiration for solving environmental issues and was held at Northeastern University in Boston. It coincided with an international day of action on climate change coordinated by 350.org. Clark's work was included along with world-renown graffiti artists, Banksy and Shepard Fairey, as well as internationally known artists such as Harri Kallio and Mary Van der Park.

Proximity Gallery
2434 East Dauphin St.
Philadelphia PA 19125
www.proximityart.com
www.myspace.com/proximityart
267.825.2949
Hours: Fri. and Sat. 1pm-4pm
Always by appointment