Vibrations Book Release & Installation
Carl & Sloan Contemporaryis proving itself a gem in the Portland art community by putting on some great programming between its exhibitions. The first of many interim events, C&S hosted a temporary one-night exhibition on Saturday celebrating the launch of Damien Gilley’s photographic book Vibrations. The launch was accompanied by a site-specific installation that exposed viewers to Gilley’s artistic process first hand.
The thirty-three photographs, on display and included in Vibrations, were taken in different artist studios, thirty in Portland, and three in Eugene. These photos shatter the environment of the everyday into absolute cyberspace with an overlay of static neon laser lights. The objects in the studios are transformed into an ambiguous mass, from which light bounces in different directions. The result is a distorting of visual chaos, and this transformation creates unique and exciting compositions of line and color.
The installation was an interactive experience where viewers had the opportunity to manipulate space in a similar fashion to the photographs of Vibrations. Specially equipped with red-tinted “laser enhancement glasses”, viewers walked behind a curtain into what is best described as a futuristic space cave. The audience participated in reconstructing their environment by placing a collection of handheld lasers at different points in the space. Textured walls allowed for the lines to become warped and jagged, while the lines on the floor and ceiling remained clean. This juxtaposition created the immediate illusion of depth, altering one’s perception into a digital playground of neon light, where reality is questioned.
Image courtesy of Sam Hopple
Artists are challenged by the environment a gallery provides, and there are certain limitations they face in dealing with scale and form. With Gilley’s installation, he was confronted with a small space to work in, and this challenge of confinement can either be exciting or daunting. By working with light, the space appeared less constricted, and he was able to break the rules of confinement by creating an illusion of expansion. Kudos to Gilley and C&S for pulling this off. Transporting people into a galactic sci-fi dream, Gilley continues pushing boundaries in defining what constitutes a drawing. Surely there are many more artist studios around Portland where he can put on his laser shows.
Carl & Sloan’s events provide a unique opportunity for the Portland community to engage in the arts in different ways, and the cocktails aren’t bad either. Their upcoming exhibition is a solo show with paintings from Tiffany Calvert that runs May 8–31, 2015. Get involved and stay in the loop with C&S at www.carlsloan.com and find out more about Damien Gilley here www.damiengilley.com.
Vibrations is available for purchase athttps://squareup.com/market/damien-gilley.
Limited copies are also available at Carl & Sloan, open 12-5 Sat-Sun.
