9/1/2008
Bill Armstrong
ClampArt, New York
ClampArt is pleased to announce “Renaissance,” Bill
Armstrong’s third exhibition at the gallery.
“Renaissance” is a series of new work from the artist’s
“Infinity” series--an ongoing project that he has been
working on for more than ten years.
Armstrong creates his imagery using a unique process of
photographing found images extremely out of focus with
his lens set on the infinity setting. In this case, the
source materials are master drawings from the Renaissance
period which have been radically re-worked and presented
on vast fields of vivid color. Armstrong’s photographs
imbue new life and a new context to the original
drawings--a renaissance of the Renaissance, if you will.
“Renaissance” presents a frieze-like panoply of the human
condition. Some of the figures seem to be ascending--they
are flying, floating or otherwise suspended, and represent
man’s aspirations toward freedom. Conversely, the figures
may be seen as falling, as if doomed. Yet others are bound,
bent, tethered, or twisted, and seem to be struggling
against the frame, representing the limits of human
frailty. The figures can also be read as motion studies,
reminiscent of Isadora Duncan’s Hellenic ideal—ironically
fluid and active for reproductions of frozen action.
Armstrong’s technique of extreme blurring dematerializes
the figures and transforms them from the earthly to the
ephemeral. As he blends and distills hues to create a
sophisticated chromatic psychology, his meditative pieces
transport the viewer to another world—human centered, like
the ideals of the 15th century, but ethereal and luminous,
an exaltation of the spirit.
Armstrong is a well-established artist who has been
exhibiting nationally and internationally for more than
twenty-five years. His images are featured in William
Ewing’s new book, FACE: The New Photographic Portrait,
and a photograph from his “Apparition” series was
reproduced in the October 15th issue of The New Yorker.
Armstrong’s work is represented in the collections of
the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University; The Museum
of Fine Arts, Houston; Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne;
Centro Internazionale di Fotografia, Milan; among many,
many others.
Artist's reception: Thursday, January 17, 2008 6-8.00 p.m.
ClampArt
531 West 25th Street, New York
Free admission