all with variation Installation

James Harris Gallery is pleased to present its first solo exhibition by artist Andrew Witkin. The artist will create a new installation at the gallery comprised of simple furniture and arranged personal effects.  Witkin works with photography, furniture, text, and other objects as agents to critique how images/objects are conditioned by specific frameworks.  Witkin poetically explores the visual characteristics of objects and their formal structures.  The placement of each object is key to transforming the context of its origin into an open-ended narrative telling a story about the way the artist navigates the world.

The installation will consist of eight chairs and two shelves on which groups of objects have been placed.  The chairs are placed in two rows facing an empty wall implying a lecture hall.  At first glance they appear to be benches with odd breaks in the back and seat.  On one shelf sits a stack of unused frames, a stack of unused mats and three piles of clippings.   The clippings subtly investigate aspects of education, community, strength and/or solitude.  The second shelf contains framed found photographs from the artist's personal collection.  The installation is imbued with something personal yet removed to allowing viewers to bring their own relationship to it.

Witkin’s practice investigates objects as a form of experience, suggesting a history and questioning the narrative of personal and public information.  The spectator or viewer becomes an active participant in completing this process by interpreting the meticulous details of the installation.   The objects can be viewed as separate or part of a whole, thus Witkin installations become metaphoric for the self and contemporary society.  He often uses simple geometries or repetitive forms paralleling minimalist aesthetics to uncover aspects of daily life.  Like Witkin's previous installations, this work focuses on an experiential system that encompasses the artwork, the viewer, and the context in which all are carefully woven together.

untitled, 2001 to xxxx
ApplyPly wood and square drive screws in two units of four, Each unit an edition of 25
32 ” x 16” x 16”