Drawing upon friendship, beside myself… | Opening Reception
Friday, June 9 :: 7pm | Ongoing through July 15
@ Current Space
Current Space is pleased to present “Drawing upon friendship, beside myself: palimpsest field equations (Towards a keeping of play),” an exhibition of collaborative works by Andrew Shenker and:
Adrian Lohmueller
Alphonso Lingis
Andrew Liang
Ben McKee
Dustin Wong
Elena Johnston
Erick Antonio Benitez
Harry Abramson
James Bouche
Jan Razauskas
Jeffrey A McGrath
Jeremy Roundtree
John Bohl
Jonathan Taube
Lindsay McCulloch
Matthew Papich
Nick Karvounis
Nick Petr
Patrick David
Teddy Johnson
TLaloC (Eduardo Corral)
You Wu
Please join us for the opening reception!
Opening Reception: Friday, June 9 from 7-10pm
Exhibit Runs: June 9 – July 15, 2023
Closing Reception & Artist Talk: Saturday, July 15 from 7-10pm; talk at 8pm
Gallery Hours: Sat 1-5pm, during public garden bar hours (Wed-Sat, 5-11pm), or by appointment
This exhibition includes works representing over 15 years of collaborations between roughly the same number of artists – from a book that Adrian Lohmueller and Andrew Shenker have passed back and forth since 2007, to more recent drawings with Andrew Liang, Alphonso Lingis, and Lindsay McCulloch (begun only weeks ago).
These collaborations grew out of a practice of drawing that attempts to remain at the threshold of sleeping, waking and dreams – keeping to a skin-depth vulnerability of touch and endless sifting, which cannot help but to disturb a neutral, distant character of observation.
There is something necessarily allusive at the heart of this work, like a puzzle being pieced together in the absence of an image that would otherwise precede, constrain and guide us towards a knowable completion from the start.
The element of surprise and the patience of waiting are crucial to this kind of basic effort; and, more than anything, perhaps, is the keeping of touch, in the touching, which tends towards a lack of control.
The accumulation of marks conjured thereby are not unlike parentheses, or cupped hands, trying to contain a thought which overflows them.
About Andrew Shenker
Through a course of studies in philosophy, Andrew’s writing style moved away from the essay form to something more literary and poetic, culminating in a practice of drawing (and filming) inspired by students and friends while teaching at MICA in the early 2000’s.
In a sense, the outset is exile, and this work but its slow preparation; a slow preparation of exile, leaning towards dust and a blindness of wisdom; simple things, like playing catch; and a blur for the sake of clarity.
