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Press Release
JULIAN DASHPER
Unique Records
October 14 - November 15, 2003
Texas Gallery
2012 Peden Street
Houston, TX 77019
…I make all sorts of things, but with a recurring emphasis on reductive and conceptual thinking in my practice and often work that relates to unique photography and the language of contemporary painting…I have a small record company that makes extremely limited editions of vinyl recordings which involves artists, never musicians, making noise and other related events… Julian Dashper
Texas Gallery is pleased to present the first American gallery exhibition of the works of New Zealand artist Julian Dashper. The artist has made a series of spontaneous “art field” recordings at various locations in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and the United States, including significant artworld pilgrimage sites as the Rothko Chapel, Houston; Donald Judd’s Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas; and the Lightning Field by Walter de Maria in New Mexico. The exhibition consists of a series of unique 12” 33.3 RPM vinyl records with letter press slip covers. The records are displayed as unique art objects. The group of records expands upon a series that Dashper has been making for the past decade. Since 1992 he has been producing highly limited editions of 7” and 12” vinyl records and the discography now numbers almost three dozen recordings. The most recent editioned work is a set of 8 records titled Blue Circles #1 –8, documenting the ambient sounds of museum visitors in front of the Jackson Pollock painting Blue Poles at the National Gallery of Australia, the purchase of which was of national controversy at the time. Among the titles of the records on view at Texas Gallery are Outside the Rothko Chapel (2003), On Being an Artist in Residence (2003), and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard (2003).
The recordings “subvert the pretences of abstraction…by inserting popular culture into it”. With a gentle but knowing humor the artist combines references to art both from New Zealand and abroad. The circle or spiral is one of the recurring images in native New Zealand art while the indie recording scene in his home country thrives on a personal and make-shift basis and has been influential abroad for its combining pop and experimentation. The influence of significant international art trends of the past thirty years, experienced by New Zealand artists mostly from magazines, are referenced and thrown into question by the artist’s willingness to be both irreverent and knowledgeable. The necessity of travel away from New Zealand is a core component of the creation of the work.
Julian Dashper has exhibited regularly throughout New Zealand since 1980 and has since 1992 shown work in Australia and Europe. In 2001 he was an artist in residence at the Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas. His most recent exhibition was at Artspace Gallery in Sydney, Australia. The artist lives in Auckland, New Zealand, and continues to travel regularly. The artist will be present for the opening, Tuesday, October 14, from 6 –8 PM. The exhibition continues until November 15.
For further information, please contact Nancy Douthey.
Texas Gallery
2012 Peden
Houston, TX 77019
713.524.1593 (tel)
713.524.0534 (fax)
www.texgal.com
info@texgal.com |
