PARIS FRANCOIS 1ER

 

"UNTITLED", 2015 WESTERN RED CEDAR
"UNTITLED (VESSEL)", 2014 SPRAY PAINT ON WESTERN RED CEDAR

A PROCESS OF SLOW REMOVAL IS CENTRAL TO ADAMO’S SCULPTURE. OBJECTS FROM EVERYDAY LIFE TAKE ON NEW FORMS, REVEALED BY THEIR REMAINS: THE FRUIT AFTER IT HAS BEEN BITTEN, THE BALLOON AFTER THE AIR HAS RUN OUT. THESE REMNANTS ARE CAST IN VARIOUS MATERIALS, INCLUDING BRONZE, PLASTER, AND ALUMINUM. THE SAME IS TRUE OF ADAMO’S WOOD WORKS—THE EVENTUAL FORMS HAVE EMERGED THROUGH THE REDUCTION OF MATERIAL.
IN 2011 ADAMO EXHIBITED IN A MEDIEVAL CHURCH, THE BASILICA OF SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE IN BERGAMO, ITALY. HE WAS ALLOWED TO TAKE AN UNUSED OAK BEAM FROM THE BAROQUE RENOVATION OF THE CHURCH. SINCE THEN, WOOD HAS BEEN HIS MATERIAL OF PREDILECTION FOR CONCEIVING AN ENTIRE BODY OF MONUMENTAL SCULPTURES—TOTEM-LIKE COLUMNS, A COLOSSAL CANOE, AMONG OTHERS.
THE TOTEM-LIKE COLUMNS ARE TRULY GREAT EXAMPLES OF THIS INTERPLAY OF MASS AND ABSENCE, AN IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC OF HIS WORK. HIS APPROACH TO THE MATERIAL IS SIMPLE, ELEGANT, AND INDUSTRIOUS ALL IN ONE. THE SCULPTURE, UNTITLED, 2012—A TWISTED COLUMN—HAS AN ADDITIONAL SENSE OF TENSION AND MOVEMENT WHILE PRESERVING ITS ICONIC APPEARANCE. AS FOR THE FULLY COVERED IN ROOFING NAILS TOTEM, UNTITLED, 2016, IT’S A RARE EXAMPLE IN HIS WORK, THE HARSH MATERIAL LOOKING LIKE A PROTECTIVE ARMOR FOR THE WOOD UNDERNEATH.

BORN IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK IN 1979, DAVID ADAMO HAS LIVED AND WORKED IN BERLIN SINCE 2008. RECENT EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE SOLO EXHIBITIONS AT ALBRIGHT-KNOX ART GALLERY, BUFFALO, NEW YORK (2015), MENDES WOOD, SÃO PAULO (2013), MD 72, BERLIN (2013), BIELEFELDER KUNSTVEREIN (2012), IBID PROJECTS, LONDON (2012), AND BASILICA DI SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE, IN BERGAMO (2011). THE ARTIST HAS ALSO PARTICIPATED IN MANY SIGNIFICANT GROUP EXHIBITIONS, INCLUDING THE DOMESTIC PLANE: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON TABLETOP ART OBJECTS, THE ALDRICH CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM, RIDGEFIELD, CONNECTICUT (2018-2019), SOME SCHOOLS ARE CAGES AND SOME SCHOOLS ARE WINGS, MUSEU DE ARTE DO RIO, RIO DE JANEIRO (2014-2015), MATERIAL WORLD AT DENVER ART MUSEUM (2013), BASED IN BERLIN ORGANIZED BY THE KW INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, BERLIN (2011), NO SENSE OF PLACE AT BERGEN KUNSTHALL, NORWAY (2011), THE WHITNEY BIENNIAL, NEW YORK (2010), AND GREATER NEW YORK AT MOMA P.S.1, NEW YORK (2010).

 

24 RUE FRANÇOIS 1ER
75008 PARIS