James Harris Gallery | Andrew Witkin: "AND AND OR"

Andrew Witkin: "AND AND OR"

July 6, 2017—August 18, 2017 | Reception Thursday, July 6th, 6-8pm

‘Res’ is a nominative singular Latin noun for a substantive or concrete thing – as opposed to ‘spes’, which means something unreal or ethereal. For Andrew Witkin, the relationship between ‘res’ and ‘spes’ is more of a gradient than a line, thus no individual work or singularly authored work truly exists.

James Harris Gallery is pleased to present “AND AND OR”, a new installation of works by Andrew Witkin. This will be Boston-based Witkin’s third solo exhibition with the gallery. Witkin’s exhibition practice seeks to strike a balance between three intertwined aspects of creative production. First are works that are made, whether in groups or singularly, that exist with no forethought purpose. Second are juxtapositions of these groups, whether in part or whole, so as to better inform the individual works and to create dynamic dialogues (and thus accepting the idea that no one idea, object or answer is absolute). Thirdly are exhibitions, as wholes, that not only use the two aforementioned aspects but engage particular situations, spaces and times and thus call for not only particular arrangements, but additions and subtractions previously neither considered, desired or needed.

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“cone / woman and child / …” 2007 - 2017 -

Witkin’s work investigates systems and structures that shape contemporary life and experiences. His artistic practice blurs the boundaries and roles of art. He is a conceptual artist that focuses on language and how we perceive the world and objects around us. Much of Witkin’s work could easily be confused with the elements populating our everyday lives, yet would live on as visible alterations in and out of context. His combination of photographic images and text asks the viewer to consider not just the ways in which language shapes things, but also how it can be codified into many meanings.

Witkin’s education occurred, academically, primarily at Wesleyan University (undergrad) and Tufts University (grad). Exhibition experiences have happened at museums such as Currier Museum of Art, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as well as at galleries such as Allston Skirt Gallery in Boston, Theodore:Art in New York and James Harris Gallery in Seattle. Works are in the collections of the DeCordova, ICA, Boston, MFA, Boston and MFA, Houston. He has executed site-responsive works in locations as diverse as Big Bend National Park, Texas, Damascus, Syria, Naples, Italy, and a long-term project is in the works in northern New Hampshire. This summer, works of his are on view in groups shows at the Flag Foundation in New York and at Concord Art in Massachusetts. A large solo exhibition of his works at the University of New Hampshire’s Museum of Art will open in January, 2018. In addition, he is partner and director of Barbara Krakow Gallery in Boston and has served as the editor of the Sol LeWitt Catalogue Raisonné of Prints and is the editor of the is the editor of the Mel Bochner Catalogue Raisonné of Prints.