JAMES BARSNESS
THE PRIZE AND OTHER WORKS
THROUGH JUNE 28
RECEPTION FOR THE ARTIST
THURSDAY, JUNE 6
During June, the George Adams Gallery will show new work by James Barsness. The exhibition will include two paintings, 10 illustrated books and a recent work on paper. The centerpiece of the show is his largest work to date, “The Prize,” 2002, a 9 x 13 foot mixed media work on canvas that has books attached to the surface. As with most of Barsness’ paintings, this is a work on paper - dress pattern paper, discarded flyers and other found sheets - mounted on canvas. The images are all rendered in outline using ballpoint pen, then colored in acrylic and, finally, sealed with a roplex covering.
Typical of many of Barsness’ works, “The Prize” takes as its subject human interaction, in this case, bureaucracy. The central image of the painting is a large propeller plane set in a desert. Characters of all types - human, animal and cartoon - swarm in and around the fuselage, with the interior of the plane depicted in cut-away. Scattered throughout the surface of the canvas are ten small “books,” painted and shaped to conform to the image rendered on the canvas which, when opened, reveals a second narrative layer.
Also featured in the exhibition are ten additional books, including one shaped like a pair of hands and another a building turret. Inside each book is a richly worked ink and acrylic drawing such as a group of dogs seated at a table, a circle of crows, or a figure carrying a box that opens to reveal a time bomb. Other works in the exhibition include a second large-scale painting titled “Colony,” a view of life as if lived in an ant farm, and a smaller work on paper titled “Poker Night” that features a self-portrait.
A monograph devoted to Barsness’ work, “Monsters Progress,” was published in 2000 with essays by Thyrza Goodeve, Richard Rayner and Susan Kandel. His work is included in such public collections as the Whitney Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy, the Arkansas Art Center and the Allentown Art Museum, as well as numerous private collections. A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, Barsness is on the faculty at the Dodd School, University of Georgia in Athens.
The James Barsness exhibition will continue through June 28th. There will be a reception for the artist on Thursday, June 6 from 6- 8 pm. The gallery’s summer hours are Monday through Friday, from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. Images from the exhibition are posted on the gallery’s website at www.artnet.com/gadams.html.
SUMMER EXHIBITION: “A Slow Time In Arcadia, 1960 - 2002: A Survey of Paintings, Drawings and Constructions by Roy DeForest and William T. Wiley.” July - August 2002.
