 |
Email PageThe Scholar's Stones of Lethe Gardens
March 2, 2006- April 1, 2006
Reception: March 2, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Reuben Cox
Bespoke Gallery
547 W 27th StBespoke Gallery is pleased to present The Scholar¹s Stones of Lethe Gardens, a series of C-Print photographs by Reuben Cox. This is Reuben Cox¹s second solo exhibit at Bespoke Gallery.
In this body of work, Cox has photographed an impermanent collection of scholars¹ rocks fabricated by the artist using aluminum foil. Cox¹s scholars¹rocks are featured in both natural environments and in domestic settings where they sit side by side with antique and art collectibles. In a natural and wild context the role of light and the solitude of these aluminum foil Œrocks¹ afford the viewer a contemplative retreat from the human dimension inherent in their synthesis, and yet displayed in a contrived interior environment the rocks resemble more traditional objets d¹art. Cox¹s photographs of the scholar¹s rocks featured in contrasting contexts explore both the dialogue between natural and artificial mediums and the human constructs of authenticity and collectible value.
The origin of scholars¹ rocks can be traced to second century B.C. China, where natural rock formations were collected and placed in private gardens or taken indoors to be honored by scholars in their studios. Over time, scholars¹ rocks came to represent a dialogue between the natural world and cultural value. Artists creating scholars¹ rocks worked with organic materials but would frequently alter the original materials in order to further evoke a specific image, thereby accentuating the innate discourse between the contemplative and natural worlds.
³In the art of the natural world, the idea that one is supposed to begin and end and in nature holds true even when an artist has moved beyond the found object and created a piece by hand: he is still concerned with capturing the randomness and unpredictability of natural creation. Thus in Chinese nature art, ³the real faces of Nature² never take you very far from the original material, the ³clod² or wild nature. Nature is not only the beginning, but also integral in the end. Nothing is lost.² From Richard Rosenblum¹s Art of the Natural World.
Born in Highlands, North Carolina in 1972, Reuben was educated at The North Carolina School for Science and Math and The Cooper Union in New York, NY. His work is included in collections of The Ogden Museum, The New Orleans Museum of Art, The Center for Documentary Studies, The Alice Austen House Museum, and Howard Stein¹s Cameraworks.
Cox¹s work has been included in numerous group shows and publications and he was a finalist for the Discovery Prize at the 2005 Rencontres Arles festival in Arles, France. In addition to Cox¹s solo exhibit What a Woman Wants at Bespoke Gallery in 2005, he had two solo shows in 2005: His X-Ray Dreams at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring, NY and The 2003 Contract Bridge World Championships! at The Captain's Bookshelf in Asheville, NC.
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show
|
 | |||||||||||||||||
Bespoke Gallery was last updated: 2008-10-12
Update general information with the Gallery Editor.
Update shows with the Exhibition Manager.
Update inventory with the Inventory Manager.
Update general information with the Gallery Editor.
Update shows with the Exhibition Manager.
Update inventory with the Inventory Manager.
|
© 2005-2008 chelseaartgalleries.com | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
| Site Map |
