Eat Out, an exhibition of sculpture by David Shaw, and Aqua/Sal (for David Shaw), the Upfront project by Jesse Bransford, will open at Feature Inc. on Thursday, 17 October with a reception for the artists from 6-8 pm. The exhibitions will continue Wednesday through Sunday 12-6 pm and close on Saturday 16 November 2013.

Eat Out evolved out of David Shaw’s questions surrounding our relationship to nature, his ongoing interests in sculpture as furniture/furniture as sculpture and what he sees as the permeable interface between matter and consciousness.

Tree limbs stand to support a landscape which is a table top, which is a wood framed mirror that by reflecting doubles its holdings, some of which are functional tableware, some of which are sculpture, and all of which are hand-blown glass. The glass is clear, so discussions of boundaries, transparency, appearance, and disappearance bubble up, and the line between these glass entities and their reflections is a lesson in discernment. Ditto for the distinguishability between sculpture and functional tableware. Many of these tabletop objects have limbs, projections, or emissions that burst or shoot out from a central form into the surrounding space, part celebration, part aggression, and perhaps part an attempt at reproduction. As well there are tree limbs, which come up from under and break through the mirror tabletops and establish a presence in the sky above. When looking into the sculpture, especially while seated for a dinner party and comparatively colorful and animated by our drinking, chewing, swallowing, and talking, we have an opportunity to opt out of the narcissistic interest in our reflection and be reminded that despite our intrusive presence in this still and ghostly landscape, we are indeed an integrated part of it.

David Shaw was born in Rochester NY in 1965 and currently lives and works in Brooklyn. He attended Colgate University for his BA, 1987, and attended School of Visual Arts, NY, also in 1987 (unmatriculated). He began exhibiting with Feature Inc. in 1990 and this is his 7th solo exhibition with the gallery.

Jesse Bransford has been engaged in graphically interpreting and recontextualizing images and information from occult, esoteric, and alternative belief systems. Recently he has moved from the theoretical position of his works on paper to a more practical one of developing and performing rituals to effect change. Using a synthesis of several magical systems, Aqua/Sal is a site-specific installation and rectification ritual for the artist David Shaw and seeks to realign Shaw’s historical dissonance with water and the watery forces in his life.

Jesse Bransford was born in Atlanta in 1972 and attended Parsons School of Design, NYC, for his BFA, 1996, New School for Social Research, NYC, for his BA, 1996, and Columbia University, NYC for his MFA, 2000. He began exhibiting with Feature Inc. in 1997, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn.

Feature Inc.
131 Allen Street
New York (NY) 10002 United States
Tel. +1 (212) 6757772
featureinc@featureinc.com
www.featureinc.com

Opening hours
Wednesday - Sunday
From 12pm to 6pm

Related images

  1. Jesse Bransford, Aqua/Sal (for David Shaw), 2013; tempera paint, graphite on wall and floor, Prague crystal, saltwater; dimensions variable per site, Courtesy of Feature Inc., New York
  2. David Shaw, I Want to Say “Cloud”, 2013; holographic laminate on wall; 93” x 234” x 50 micons, Courtesy of Feature Inc., New York
  3. Jesse Bransford, Detail of Aqua/Sal (for David Shaw), 2013; tempera paint, graphite on wall and floor, Prague crystal, saltwater; dimensions variable per site, Courtesy of Feature Inc., New York
  4. David Shaw, Twin, 2013; wood, mirror, glass; 105 x 94 x 51”, Courtesy of Feature Inc., New York
  5. David Shaw, Eat Out, Courtesy of Feature Inc., New York
  6. David Shaw, Bog, 2013; wood, mirror, glass; 115 x 94 x 90", Courtesy of Feature Inc., New York