Opening on May 13th, 2006, Cirrus Gallery is pleased to present Quiver, a group exhibition of sculpture and works on paper from Elaine Bradford, Nathan Danilowicz, Joe Deutch, and Patrick Jackson.
Employing everyday materials towards uncanny effect, the sculptural work included in Quiver assess the mundane and transfigure objects and materials into intellectual and spatial anomalies. Investigating issues of fragility, mortality, fear, and violence, the exhibition draws its title most obviously from Nathan Danilowicz’s Quiver, a sculptural work consisting of a wooden stand suspending a group of hand-made arrows. A collection or store, or perhaps more specifically: an arsenal, the ‘quiver’ functions as a ready response, an outpost of items awaiting undecided intention.
The word ‘quiver’ can also describe a physical response (ex. a trembling, or violent shaking) or an emotional response (ex. an uncontrollable sensation of fright or fear). Patrick Jackson’s fragile and meticulously balanced works play upon the tenuous nature of material and symbolic relationships. Six glass squares suspend and maintain equilibrium on a collection of similarly sized tchotchkes, creating the illusion of solidity and stability. However, a quick shake would bring Jackson’s carefully balanced works crashing down.
A sense of foreboding and mysticism encapsulate the symbolic and performative work of Joe Deutch. Pyramids of asphalt, blood, a figurine, and driftwood combine in an altar of mysterious intention. Also on view are Elaine Bradford’s cozy and seemingly cheery crochet cover-ups which seemingly mask a darker element of disguise and entanglement. Two mounted deer trophy busts lock antlers in an endless and futile battle while multi-colored yarn sweaters snuggle chopped and discarded sections of tree trunks.