|
Crossing
Brooklyn:
" Brooklyn Container"
A New
Sculpture by John Beech
Bryan Collier,
Lobby Gallery
John
Beech, Simon Lee, Christopher Lesnewski "Collaborative Drawings
1998-2003", Balcony Cases
May 1
- June 28, 2003
"Brooklyn Container," curated by Marian Griffiths, is the third in a
series of installations by innovative Brooklyn artists entitled Crossing
Brooklyn. In "Brooklyn Container," Beech finds art in everyday domestic
and commercial objects such as the common Dumpster, and combines and
presents these objects in unexpected ways. Beech is interested in "the
‘object’ quality of things…what a work of art is when it’s not on
display." He gives life to his art and compels the viewer to look at
objects in a different way.
In Beech’s art, viewers encounter the unexpected and their preconceived
notions are challenged. Beech manages to give a dynamic and interesting
slant to objects normally seen as static. For example, he adds wheels to
a shallow box in places that are illogical or he projects a painting
eight feet from a wall. Beech allows his artwork to evolve even in the
process of creation. He believes that letting go of expectations can
often lead to something much more interesting than the original concept,
both for the artist and for the viewer of the art.
Beech served as an artist in residence at the Chinati Foundation in
Marfa, Texas, and mounted several installations in New York including at
the Stark and Miles Bellamy Galleries. He has also shown at galleries in
Texas, Canada and Europe. Beech considers himself a "reductionist," and
his interest in this art-form stems partly from his travels to Morocco
and India. In these countries, many materials are recycled for different
uses or out of necessity, and Beech found that "a lot of the world is
like that." Unlike other "reductionists" whose art is polished and
detached, Beech believes that it is important that his art be "imbedded
in the world rather than separate" from it.
This exhibition is curated by Marian Griffiths and organized by Smack
Mellon.
|
(Click to enlarge)
|
)
)