16/5/2002
Gordon Terry
G-module, Paris
Black Holes, Bohemians, Colonials and Boudoirs. Terry has referred to his work as "decadent modernism". Under this rubric he may offer depictions, as in the drawings, of the Neuschwanstein Castle, humble American colonial structures of the state of Delaware, modernist interiors and furniture. Or, as in the paintings, he may present work about 19th century bohemia, science fiction, the turn of the century avant-garde, minimalism and even his own genealogy back to the Revolutionary War.
The works to be presented at
g-module represent interrelated
strains of Terry’s project. Paintings
are acrylic on acrylic - either
acrylic paint poured and
manipulated and then stretched
over acrylic stretcher bars without
any supporting canvas, or
biomorphic forms or text of acrylic paint arranged on solid
acrylic panels. The recent drawings are "Idealized Settings"
of rococo interiors and American colonial dwellings - often
cell vinyl and acrylic on Chromekote paper framed in
Plexiglas casings designed by the artist.
The title piece of Terry’s exhibition, Black Holes,
Bohemians, Colonials, and Boudoirs (var.1), - a panel of
solid black acrylic onto which are arranged and adhered
scores of shapes of poured acrylic paint of varying hues,
sizes and translucencies - signals the artist’s aesthetic
and conceptual concerns in both form and title. This
painting offer’s rows and columns of individual small
"paintings" each carefully made elsewhere before being
affixed. These small poured pieces may look like renderings
of star systems or perhaps brains or even exuberant,
abstract paintings. The work addresses the "wow" of the
perfect pop culture moment or even the thrill of a sci-fi
acolyte discovering the ultimate airbrushed nebula.
Terry has referred to his work as "decadent modernism."
Under this rubric he may offer depictions, as in the
drawings, of the Neuschwanstein Castle, humble American
colonial structures of the state of Delaware, modernist
interiors and furniture. Or, as in the paintings, he may
present work about 19th century bohemia, science fiction,
the turn of the century avant-garde, minimalism and even
his own genealogy back to the Revolutionary War. Inherent
in his project is the contradiction between the wonder that
can be created in pursuit of an ideal and the inexorable
march towards failure that is utopian longing.
Gordon Terry lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He
studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and New York
University. He has shown internationally and has had
several solo exhibitions in New York City.
g-module
15 Rue Debelleyme 75003 Paris