Mercredi 05 Novembre 2014 16:12:51 par actuphoto dans Expositions

Rat Hole Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of work by John Gerrard on view from November 14, 2014 until February 28, 2015. Featuring a large-scale projection and sculptural objects that present simulations using real-time 3D technology, this exhibition marks the first time for the artist’s work to be shown in Japan.

John Gerrard (Irish, b. 1974) is known for his works that are constructions of virtual worlds using real-time 3D computer graphics, a technology originally developed for military use and now used in the videogame industry. Using extensive photographic documentation and topographical satellite data of site visits, he creates portraits of physical locations, often geographically isolated industrial structures, from a complex set of several thousand photographs which are used as textures for a reconstructed, hand-built, virtual 3D model that incorporates the passing of time and other environmental elements.

For his installation at Rat Hole Gallery, the artist will present two works. Sow Farm (near Libbey, Oklahoma) 2009, shown as a large-screen projection, depicts an existing agricultural complex in the American midwest housing a large but unseen community of sows engaged in mass farrowing. An orbital camera presents a 360-degree view of the landscape across the duration of a 24-hour day and 365-day year cycle. Sunspot Drawing (Guantanamo City) 2012, presented on a smaller-scale display object, is a simulation of the artist’s hand holding a magnifying glass from dawn until dusk against a road reproduced from Guantánamo, Cuba. The viewer is invited to follow the projected spot created from the virtual sun’s rays, which changes form according to the time of day and the year, with the work unfolding across a 365-day period.

John Gerrard
Solar Reserve (Toponah, Nevada)
Installation view at Lincoln Center, New York City
2014
Courtesy of the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery, London

While at a first glance having a resemblance to film or video-based art, Gerrard’s works are a unique engagement with moving images and function as “photographic sculptures,” breaching divisions between and extending the boundaries of photography, painting, sculpture, and cinema. Characterized by an eerily compelling hyperrealism and references to the sublime, Gerrard’s works often address themes of power and energy relationships, economies, politics, and warfare, and are concerned with a hidden part of the global production network that make the luxuries of contemporary society possible.

John Gerrard lives and works between Vienna and Dublin. He received his BFA from the School of Fine Art and Drawing at Oxford University and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. A major solo presentation of his work was included in the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009) and he has exhibited worldwide, including a major public art installation Solar Reserve (Tonopah Nevada) currently on view in Lincoln Center in New York City from October 3 until December 1, 2014.

John Gerrard
Sunspot Drawing (Guantanamo City) 2012
2012
Courtesy of the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery, London