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Matthew Girson - The Pillow and the Painting
December 14, 2007 - January 26, 2008
Opening Reception: Friday, December 14, 2007, 6-9pm
Gallery Hours: Saturday, 11a.m - 5 p.m. or by appointment
CHICAGO, IL - rowlandcontemporary is pleased to present Matthew Girson's solo exhibition The Pillow and the Painting. The exhibition encompasses new investigations into technology and further explorations into his study of satellites and their respective variety of meaning. This exhibition also coincides with Girson's inclusion in the Spertus Museum's inaugural exhibition, The New Authentics: Artists of the Post-Jewish Generation.
The Pillow and the Painting has been conceived around two new works: a sound project called The Sleep (of Reason Produces Monsters, I Think), 2007/2037, and an oil painting called The Fall, 2007.
The Sleep (of Reason Produces Monsters, I Think), 2007/2037 will not be completed until 2037 at which time the 100 year long audio track will be broadcast into outer space. The transmission will be a slowed down recording of an excerpt from Maurice Blanchot's 1941 book, Thomas l'obscur. The real time duration of the complete recorded Blanchot excerpt is 2 minutes and 21 seconds. This will be slowed to last for 100 years by multiplying each sound sample 22,320,000 times. The audio track being played during the run of this exhibition is one sentence from the Blanchot text, Je pense, donc je ne suis pas, (I think, therefore I am not), slowed down 223,200 times. Originally less than 3 seconds long, this sentence now lasts over seven days. When complete this one sentence will last approximately two years.
2037 will mark the 400th anniversary of Rene Descartes' seminal publication, Discourse on Method. Generally understood to be a turning point in continental philosophy this book led to subject-centered Modern thought. The most renowned excerpt from this publication includes the phrase, Je pense, donc je suis, (I think, therefore I am).
Girson continues to expand his practice of painting with The Fall. This large scale work presents us with a mostly dark canvas, save for two distinctive shapes that indicate that we are looking at the back of a head. Present in its absence, the most valuable object is actually concealed from a viable point of reference. What is left from the seeming nowhere, nothing subject matter is a chance to impregnate with idea, memory, and identity. Other paintings from this series will also be included in the exhibition.
Engaging in a wide range of sensorial acuity, Matthew Girson's work literally falls, unguardedly, into unique methods for discerning reality from appearance. His prodigious and varied output allows for the discovery of personal subjectivity, simultaneously confronting us with subliminal absurdity and projected awe.
Matthew Girson received his MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago and BFA from University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA. He has curated several exhibitions, written for many publications, and his own work has been reviewed in FlashArt , Artforum, Art in America, and Time Out London, among others. Recent exhibitions include the Spertus Museum, Chicago, IL, the Mary and Leigh Block Museum, Evanston, IL, and The Suburban, Oak Park, IL.
This exhibition will run through January 26, 2008. Join us for an opening reception Friday, December 14, from 6-9pm. For more information, please contact or call 312 421 6275.
View images from this exhibition...
View press from this exhibition...
Read the full excerpt from The Sleep (of Reason Produces Monsters, I Think)...
(pdf 34k)
Hear an excerpt from The Sleep (of Reason Produces Monsters, I Think) in real time...
...slowed down 5 times...
...slowed down 125 times...
