Adam McEwen’s Switch and Bait is an exhibition in a temporary project space of Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery in New York’s Chelsea district. The minimalistic show consists of two sculptures, both made from machine graphite.
Graphite, like its allotrope diamond, is a form of carbon. Its specific properties, such as stability under high temperatures, make it essential to the steel industry, the solar electrical industry and the missile manufacturing industry, among others. The graphite dust from these processes is sold on to the pencil manufacturing industry.
It takes a while to realize what’s on display: rows of lighting tubes and a credit card – fabricated by Adam McEwen out of solid graphite. By the way: if you buy a credit card, McEwen will personalize it with your name.
Adam McEwen was born in Great Britain in 1965. He lives and works in New York. His work has been shown in numerous group and solo exhibitions at venues including the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY and the P.S.1. Contemporary Art Center, NY. This is his third solo exhibition with Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery.
The exhibition at Nicole Klagsbrun’s offsite space at 530 West 20th Street in Chelsea is running until April 18, 2009.
Adam McEwen: Switch and Bait / Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, New York. Opening reception, March 5, 2009.
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