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Swarm Gallery

October 10 - November 10, 2008

Info

http://swarmgallery.com/
(510) 839-2787

560 Second Street Oakland, CA 94607

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Renee Adams, Hangle Dangler (2008)

Artist Reception | Friday, October 10, 2008, 6-8PM Deeply rooted in the biological world, Renee Adams' work exists as a distinctive artificial reality. She is fascinated with the inherent qualities of life and the importance we grant them. Anomaly and normality, virility and frailty, beauty and repulsion are each inherited traits that exist simultaneously and often inharmoniously in the natural world. Using both natural and artificial materials, Adams creates imaginary hybrid species that are delicate, alluring, and sometimes awkward or disturbing. She is interested in blurring lines, creating the indefinable, and manipulating the senses; leaving the viewer without a point of reference. Much of her work questions ideals of beauty and the way in which we manipulate nature or ourselves to attain it. She often refers to the eccentric drawings of German biologist, Ernst Haeckel, for visual inspiration. His enduring images of plants, animals and microorganisms depict life forms in intimate detail. She too wishes to share each tentacle, shoot and antennae in beautiful, grotesque reality. Ria Brodell playfully explores "The Distant Lands" (series title) in her works -- they are beautiful, vast, uninhabited and unblemished by human influence. There are many different creatures living here whom she carefully observes. Her drawings and sculptures are an attempt to represent them and record their characteristics and behaviors. "The Wormbunnies were the first creatures I observed. They are gentle and curious animals that live in small communities. They are very social and travel often. Similarly, The Whale and his friend the Submarine journey everywhere together. I would characterize them as old friends and they seem to be highly regarded by the other creatures. The Birdmen, on the other hand, though intelligent and entrusted to spread the news, are rather apathetic to the dilemmas of the others. They often cause mischief. The Clumps and the Sodmonsters are the most troubled of the various creatures. They emerge from the land and can only be distinguished by their temperaments. The Sodmonsters are voracious and aggressive and are constantly vying for more territory. They have been continuously waging war on their more peaceful counterparts, the Clumps. This endless battling has caught the attention of even the most reclusive of the creatures in The Distant Lands."

Ria Brodell, A Gathering in the Mountains (2008)