Ro2 Art is proud to present All Is Becoming, a solo exhibition featuring new works by artist Justin Archer. The show will run from January 12 through February 10, 2019. There will be an opening reception held Saturday, January 12, from 7-10 p.m. at the Ro2 Art Cedars gallery located at 1501 S. Ervay St. Dallas, TX 75215.
By listening intently to the stories of the people around him and considering how these narratives communicate intangible aspects of humanity, Artist Justin W. Archer develops sculptures based on his relationships with individuals. With the insight gained from these narratives informing his own identity, as well as lending to an enriched external perspective, Archer creates his work to encourage compassion in viewers and compel them to contemplate the manner in which they view themselves and others. He uses specific symbols from friends, family, and strangers to inform his artistic decisions beginning first with 3D scanned images and finally utilizing traditional carving methods. This creative process references the history of sculpture while still maintaining visual clues to its digital roots. All Is Becoming is a metaphoric expression on the unique experiences of individuals, cultivating opportunity for empathy and compassion.
About the Artist:
Justin W. Archer (b.1989) is a sculptor whose work examines the human experience through contemporary figurative wood carving. After receiving his B.F.A. at the University of North Texas he took time to explore mediums and processes before returning to the university for his M.F.A. in Sculpture. Archer’s work has been exhibited nationally and is in many personal and private collections. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Studio Arts at the University of North Texas in Denton, and helped create the print publication “Friend of the Artist”. He lives with his wife, Laura Archer, and their schnauzer, Pippin, in Denton, Texas.
Artist Statement:
Throughout history, stories have been used to communicate the intangible aspects of our humanity, giving insight into ourselves and others. As I have spent time listening to the stories of family, friends, and strangers - their hopes and fears, hardships and joys - it has informed me of who I am while creating perspective of the people around me. Through traditional carving and digital fabrication processes, I create lifesize figurative sculptures that share contemporary experiences of individuals in the hope of cultivating compassion.
My sculptures are derived from relationships I develop with different individuals. From these relationships, I consider posture, clothing and symbols that might express a specific and informative experience from that person's life. This leads to a 3D scanned image of them, which is then digitally manipulated. This initial scan records a unique and temporal image of the individual whose story is being expressed. From that record, I use fabrication equipment to create the prototype which I then render using traditional carving methods. The dialogue between digitally and physically created portraits examines unique aspects of contemporary life. Gluing individual blocks of wood together, I am able to leave behind negative spaces or create vertical expansion within the figure, and a rough gesture is sculpted. From this gesture, I use chisels to hand carve the specific information of the figure. The remains of this process reflect the history of the sculpture and maintain a visual reminder of the initial digital model.
Accompanying each figure, or exhibited independently, are everyday objects that serve as a metaphoric expression of things unseen yet still experienced by the individual. While these objects are wood, like the figures, they are trompe l’oeil. These symbols, such as high fashion sneakers, umbrellas, a cinder block or a water bucket are displaced from their materiality, creating a tension within the work that the viewer is left to consider.
While the stories shared within my work inform the figure, posture, and symbols presented in the final work, their specificity is often abstracted. This invites the viewer to engage personally with the sculptures, to consider the stories they are being presented with and to decide how they perceive themselves and others in light of them. This experience enables empathy with the viewer and creates the opportunity for them to consider those around them with compassion.
About Ro2 Art
Ro2 Art, a contemporary fine art gallery located in The Cedars Neighborhood near Downtown Dallas, represents a diverse group of emerging, mid-career, and established contemporary artists – many with ties to the North Texas Region. The gallery, founded in 2010 by mother-and-son partners Susan Roth Romans and Jordan Roth, regularly collaborates with organizations such as The MAC and Cedars Union and maintains an exhibition program within the Magnolia Theatre at West Village and other satellite venues. Ro2 Art has been named Dallas Observer's "Best Art Gallery" and was presented with the 25th Annual Obelisk Award for small business by the North Texas Business Council for the Arts. The gallery's art fair program has included the Dallas Art Fair, Texas Contemporary, and Art Aspen.
All works will be view January 12 - February 10, 2019. Please join us for the opening reception on January 12, 7-10 PM at Ro2 Art, located at 1501 S. Ervay St. Dallas, TX 75215. For more information, visit www.Ro2art.com, or call Jordan Roth at (214) 803-9575.
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