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Colby Bird: Dust Breeds Contempt

Colby Bird
Shelf with Fruit, 2011
wood, wood stain, dust, paint, financial times, and fruit
60 x 24 x 3 inches

Colby Bird
4-Part Sculpture, 2011
painted wood, raw wood, and foam 
approximately 16 x 4 x 4 inches

Colby Bird
5-Part Sculpture, 2011
stained wood, painted wood, and alabaster 
approximately 16 x 4 x 4 inches

Colby Bird
6-Part Sculpture, 2011
raw wood, foam, marble, and metal nail
approximately 16 x 4 x 4 inches

Colby Bird
7-Part Sculpture, 2011
painted wood, raw wood, rubber, marble, and alabaster
approximately 16 x 4 x 4 inches

Colby Bird
Boxes, 2011
corrugated boxes and paint
dimensions variable, 88 x 82 inches each

Colby Bird
33, 2011
wood, granite, marble, rubber and dust
50 x 13 x 8 inches

Colby Bird
Cord, 2011
wood, paint and dust
50 x 50 x 40 inches

Colby Bird
Saint Woodrow, 2010
fiber-based pigment print; edition of 3
24 x 30 inches
 

Colby Bird
Easter, 2009
c-print; edition of 3
24 x 30 inches

Colby Bird
Broad Side, 2010
fiber-based pigment print; edition of 3
30 x 24 inches

Colby Bird
Billy les Nabis, 2010
c-print; edition of 3
36 x 26 inches
 

Colby Bird
Howdy, 2010
c-print; edition of 3
40 x 30 inches
 

Colby Bird
Shirt Sleeve, 2010
c-print; edition of 3
25 x 16 inches

Colby Bird
Keira, 2010
c-print; edition of 3
35 x 25 inches
 

Colby Bird
Phone Rock, 2010
c-print; edition of 3
25 x 16 inches

Colby Bird
Dom Pérignon, 2010
c-print; edition of 3
50 x 39 inches

Colby Bird
Chair 1, 2011
wood, wood putty, wood stain, fruit and alabaster
24 x 24 x 60 inches

Colby Bird
Chair 2, 2011
wood, wood putty, wood stain, lacquer, fruit and alabaster
24 x 12 x 60 inches

Colby Bird
Chair 3, 2011
wood, wood stain, cord, fruit and alabaster
13 x 8 x 50 inches

Colby Bird
Chair 4, 2011
steel, primer, screws, wood, fruit and alabaster
24 x 24 x 50 inches

September 09 – November 26, 2011

Lora Reynolds Gallery is pleased to present our first solo exhibition by Colby Bird, Dust Breeds Contempt.

The works in this exhibition seek to establish an equivalence between three distinct phases of their own existence: the creation of the artwork, the display of the artwork, and the adaptation and ageing that the artwork undergoes in the hands of the eventual owner. These phases are presented as non-hierarchical--the aesthetic and contextual changes of the works during each phase are of equal importance.

Bird has authored a specific combination of physical variations to accompany each work in the exhibition. These variances prevent the works from ever truly being static objects, and disallow any definitive formal or conceptual solution, thus equalizing the labor of the work's creation and the labor of the work's subsequent alteration. The concept of "measureable efforts" is central to Bird's sculptural practice, and relics of this effort (scuffs, dust, cuts, etc) imbue the works with existentially essential concepts such as logic, balance, and gravity.

Bird has chosen to display only a single photograph in the exhibition space, switched out daily, or at the viewers' request, from a cache of seven images. The shelved and angled presentation of the photos allows for the accumulation of dust on the surface of the glass, and is a nod to the Man Ray photograph Dust Breeding, in which he photographed the gathering of dust on a pane of glass that was later used in Duchamp's The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (La mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires, même, 1915-1923). This relationship of image to object, and the documentation of a sculptural work in progress made into an iconic artwork itself, holds special significance for Bird; the relationship between these two artworks has served as both a model and inspiration for his work.

Colby Bird was born in Austin, Texas and currently lives and works in New York. He is included in a number of private and public collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art. Bird's work will also be on view at Arthouse at the Jones Center, as part of the group exhibition organized by the Aspen Art Museum titled: ‘The Anxiety of Photography,' up through December 30, 2011.