Ennyman's Territory: A Warm Reset: David Bowen at JNG

"the other side (3-18-19)"

The doors are open at Joseph Nease Gallery in Duluth. The new show features mostly familiar artists and a lot of new work. The recommended protocol is to make an appointment because of the requirement for social distancing which is still in effect.

Artists represented include Matthew Kluber, Liz James, Allen Killian Moore, Tim White, David Bowen, Tara Austin, James Brinsfield and Kathy McTavish. The images on this blog post are from David Bowen's project, "the other side".

In the main gallery you will see several 23.5 x 23.5 inch pieces which appear to be some kind of sculpted surface, textured abstract monochromatic paintings, akin to topographic maps except all one color, in this case a mauve color. The material is actually a cut polyisocyanurate and the design is created via digital carving of the surface The way the shadows shade the surface is interesting, but not really the full story.

"the other side (3-17-19)"

How the pieces were created, and where the name comes from, is told in a 2 minute video that is being projected in Gallery A. Essentially, the series is titled "the other side" because the process involves satellite photos taken on the other side of the world. A section of the aerial image is selected, and the 3-D image is computer generated by means of the computer which then feeds this information into a piece of equipment that carves the identical topography into these squares.

Each is from the same location on the other side of the world, and different only because the images are taken on different days. The primary variation comes from the cloud formations there.

Interestingly enough, even before seeing the video I somehow imagined that the surfaces were topographical. My guess was that they were lake bottoms, designed by means of sonar. So my instinct were not that far off.

A Warm Reset will run from March 26 thru June 26. On April 10 there will be an artist talk featuring Liz James, Tara Austin and Time White, and a second artist talk on May 22. The gallery is located at 23 West 1st Street here in Duluth.

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A brief story in pictures about "the other side"