Species of Spaces by Alison Owen at Smack Mellon
My art practice explores collections, archives, found materials, and architecture. I engage with an archive or museum collection, gathering materials and taking notes on patterns, colors, similarities, differences. I then present these chosen objects in a new light. I invent a lyrical, intuitive framework, to give the objects a new set of relationships, a new context. I begin an installation or body of work by establishing a stock of materials: I sweep and save the dust, take inventory of the materials in the gallery storeroom and the leftovers from previous exhibitions. I meet with and collect donations from people connected to the space. I create a compositional system for the collected objects, thinking about visual resonance, similarities and differences, use and meaning. When I am installing a show, I respond to the architecture of the space, so there is a relationship between the site and the things brought into the site.
Workspace Exhibition @ Cuchifritos Gallery
Collected Works: A Brief History of Artists Alliance Inc