10 November – 22 December, 2006
Exhibition
Opening Reception, Thursday November 9th, 6-8pm
Spencer Brownstone Gallery is thrilled to present the first New York solo show by Spanish artist Jaime Pitarch.
Pitarch works in the diverse media of sculpture, video, drawing, photography, and installation. At the heart of all his projects is the transformation of everyday objects: directly, in the case of his reconfigured chairs, tables, guitars etc., or in actions documented by the camera.
This show will feature objects and installations that reflect the full range of the artist's practice
Pitarch's emblematic 'Momentum' series will be represented by three new works. These sculptural pieces feature wooden tables and chairs that have, often violently, been disassembled and then reconstructed in wholly dysfunctional, precariously balanced arrangements.
Play Hard transforms that ubiquitous symbol of free expression, the electric guitar, into a self-conscious and hilarious parody of itself.
Several of the artist's 'Domestic Action' videos will be on view, short performances for the camera in domestic settings whose apparent banality belies the simple magic that unfolds onscreen.
And Pitarch will also make a number of on-site transformations of the gallery space that play with our perceptions and expectations as we move around the exhibition.
While his work often appears bathetic and destined to infernal repetition, Pitarch proposes the beauty of the humble action as one laced with radical potential. The result is a body of work of rare humor, poignancy and bristling critical energy.
Artist Bio
Jaime Pitarch lives and works in Barcelona. He received a BA from the Chelsea College of Art, London in 1993, and an MA from the Royal College of Art, London in 1995. He has exhibited extensively in Europe, including a solo presentation curated by Maria de Corral at this year's ARCO fair in Madrid, and a solo show at the Centre Cultural Fundació La Caixa, Lleida - as well as group shows at venues including, Centre de Cultura Contemporània, Barcelona, MU Foundation, Eindhoven, and The Whitechapel Art Gallery, London.