Christian Schwarzwald
Boxed
January 8 - February 13, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, January 8, 6 – 8 pm
Derek Eller Gallery presents a site-specific drawing installation by Christian Schwarzwald entitled Boxed. Consisting of a series of large works on paper which are mounted on partially painted gallery walls, Boxed challenges the viewer’s experience of pictorial space. As two-dimensional drawings interact with the three-dimensional room, the installation becomes sculptural. This quality is further enhanced by Schwarzwald’s repeated use of the box form which functions both as a space-defining device and as a kind of presentation vitrine for the drawings within..
The majority of the works are done in charcoal and depict scenery which hovers somewhere between abstraction and figuration. Yet interspersed throughout are several images of rope structures, meticulously drawn in graphite and acrylic, and serving to remind us of the installation’s architectural space both real and imagined. Viewed through such an untraditional perspective the content of the drawings is given new meaning. The notion that a larger context can re-define and illuminate a single gesture is central to Schwarzwald’s work. He writes, “Like language is formed by putting together a combination of words, my drawing installations are built out of single drawings that complete one another to form a new greater picture”.
Boxed was originally conceived for an exhibition at the Örebro Konsthall in 2009. Based in Berlin, Christian Schwarzwald has had recent solo exhibitions at Galerie Krinzinger in Vienna and Nina Menocal Gallery in Mexico City. His work has been featured in group shows at Mannheimer Kunstverein and Museo Civico, Rovreto. This will be his third solo exhibition at the gallery.
Derek Eller Gallery is located at 615 West 27th Street, between 11th and 12th Avenues. Hours are Tuesday - Saturday from 11am - 6pm. For further information or visuals, please contact the gallery at 212.206.6411 or visit www.derekeller.com