On View: May 27 - July 9, 2016
Opening Reception: Friday, May 27, 2016, 7-9pm

Civilian Art Projects is pleased to announce “Laughter,” the gallery’s first solo exhibition with New York-based artist Graham Collins. The exhibition opens on May 27 and will be on view until July 9, 2016. There is a public reception for the artist on Friday, May 27th from 7 to 9pm.

“Laughter” is comprised of several oversized works, drawing from ongoing series. In one, rudimentary monochrome paintings are encased under glass in handmade, reclaimed wood frames, and partially obscured by automotive window tint. Other paintings are stitched together from fragments of anonymous canvas paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries. A large-scale, site-specific work will draw connections from the architecture of the gallery to the works in the exhibition.

Collins’ work addresses production, craft, abstraction, painting, blue-collar labor, and the art object. Work is made from reclaimed and recycled items, including timber and wood; undervalued, forgotten paintings; trash; and other detritus left behind by a mass producing, post-industrial culture. The architectural structure of these works, and the intimate craft behind the making of them, highlight the hands of both the artist and the craftsman.

Graham Collins was born in Washington, D.C. in 1980. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BFA 2003 from Corcoran College of Art in Washington, DC, and his MFA 2010 from Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. Graham Collins’ recent solo exhibitions include “The Village“ at Bugada & Cargnel in Paris, France (2015); “Early Words” at Halsey McKay, East Hampton, New York (2015); “Concert in Central Park” at Jonathan Viner Gallery, London, UK (2014); “Clean Room” at Luce Gallery in Torino, Italy (2014); and “Civic” at The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, New York (2013). His work has been shown in numerous group exhibitions, including “Altered States” at Jérôme Pauchant in Paris, France (2015); “Ghost Current” at V1 Gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark (2014); “Uber-Bodies” at Hydra School Projects in Hydra, Greece (2014); and “Difference and Repetition” at Luce Gallery in Torino, Italy (2014), among others.

 

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