JIM LEE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4 – June 2, 2007 | Reception: Friday, May 4, 6 – 8 pm
JIM LEE Altamont
Project Space: PETER GARFIELD Deep Space 1

For his first solo show at Freight + Volume, Jim Lee will exhibit a series of new sculpture/painting hybrids that reflect his quirky brand of humor and present themselves as abstract solutions that slip in and out of recognition. Glossy surfaces, exposed three-dimensional wood skeletons set behind canvas, a stretcher bar on loan as a sculptural component and calculated brushstrokes that emulate texture are all elements that emerge throughout the gallery space. Lee’s creations give faithful attention to the nuances of production, surface and effect but without the implied self-consciousness.

An obsessive collector of industrial and consumer detritus, Lee fashions from these materials sly and innocuous objects that demand close inspection. His love for potent visual flavor manifests within these uniquely assembled pieces. Foul and chance enter in as conditions of the work and operate as vehicles for signature or sentiment. Sharp titles, sports reference and punky gestures, all employed frequently by Lee, threaten to negate the work’s seeming aesthetic austerity. Art historical references are evident as the works take their cue from a long list or peripheral influences such as Blinky Palermo and Ree Morton.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is the silent giant Yonder Away. The canvas, stretcher bars protruding enough to allow for a sculptural undertone, takes its name from the Casper David Freidrich painting The Wanderer Above the Mists. Lee has reduced Freidrich’s seascape to a beautiful blank snowdrift, inflated its scale to life-size, removed the ‘wanderer’ and put the viewer in his place. The painting becomes a field by which the audience literally moves through, the work is activated by the viewers physical engagement with it – thus becoming an almost performative piece.

Jim Lee received his MFA at the University of Delaware before locating to Brooklyn, NY. He has had several solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe including CRG Gallery, NY; Wooster Art Space, NY; Larry Becker Contemporary, PA; Neuberger Museum of Art, NY; Allston Skirt, MA; and Galerie Markus Winter, Berlin. He currently teaches at Hofstra University and Queens College.

In the project space Peter Garfield will premier a single channel version of the film Deep Space 1 along with a series of mixed media drawings related to the piece. In the film, a query about the nature of free will, Garfield takes us on a dizzying journey through various dimensions. The camera glides through a landscape, a door, a room, straight through walls - without having to stop once. Deep Space 1 originated from ideas that Garfield has explored in his other photographic and book works for a number of years. Working with neither script nor story boards, Garfield attempted to recreate images that had persisted in his mind, allowing the film to develop organically. He constructed, altered, destroyed, and rebuilt his fabricated sets according to an evolving vision and based on the film’s internal demands as the narrative developed.

Peter Garfield is an interdisciplinary artist working in photographs, sculpture, and video. He has had several solo exhibitions across Europe and the US. Garfield made waves in 1998 with his book project "Harsh Realty", fooling many (even critics) with his stunning photographs of houses falling through the sky. His film Deep Space 1 was nominated for a Tiger Award for Short Film at the 2007 International Film Festival Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and was screened earlier this month at MassMoCa in conjunction with the exhibition Adam Cvijanovic & Peter Garfield: Unhinged.

For more information, please visit the gallery’s website or contact Nick Lawrence (Owner), Steven Stewart (Co-Director) or Yasha Wallin (Co-Director) at 212.989.8700 or info@freightandvolume.com.