Contact: John Addison, 505-992-0711 May 5, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
John Garrett: New Works
May 22 to June 20, 2015
Opening Reception: Friday, May 22, 5-7pm at new location, 558 Canyon Road
Santa Fe, NM – Chiaroscuro Contemporary Art is pleased to present our first solo exhibition at our new location, 558 Canyon Road. After five years at 702 ½ and 708 Canyon, this month Chiaroscuro has consolidated to 558 Canyon, the front two story building, with our sister gallery Gebert Contemporary occupying the back building. Off street parking is provided in between the two galleries. Regular hours for both galleries are Tuesday – Saturday 10am to 5pm.
Long time Chiaroscuro artist, John Garrett, will present new mixed media wall sculpture and a site specific installation of 150 “strains” in the new space. Garrett is nationally recognized for his elaborate mixed media sculptures that employ “textile technologies” to “weave” together an infinite collection of varied pieces, made from found and altered objects. Using discarded, recycled, non-precious materials, John Garrett’s new sculptures transform and elevate his materials into a new realm. This dynamic body of work consists of medium and large-scale pieces hanging from the wall and an installation hanging straight down from the ceiling. Garrett explains, “While each piece of the whole remains a distinct object, their aggregate becomes something else. For example, the hard rigid objects can take on a soft organic quality. Furthermore, these sculptures look as if they grew into being, much like a grape vine, instead of being constructed by the artist’s hand.” Also, with this new body of work, Garrett is breaking away from the “more is more” philosophy of art marking and embracing a more reductive emphasis. Some of his new work is limiting color to black and white and focusing more on the linear elements. That work relates to the clean crisp lines of a drawing more than the color collages of the past.