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Alwar Balasubramaniam

September 21 - December 15, 2007

Alwar Balasubramaniam - Exhibitions - Talwar Gallery

Secrets (Detail)

Talwar Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of new works by A. Balasubramaniam. Imbuing everyday objects with a transcendental vision, Bala’s new works resonate with meaning and appeal. In The shadow of a shadow of a shadow…, an unremarkable cardboard box takes us on a transformative journey, twisting and contorting, flower-like, with the light that falls on it. Bala captures the stages of light’s absence, giving form to it while allowing it to cast another shadow. This shadow of a shadow is then cast and the process continues until ultimately only unrecognizable vestiges of the object remain.

Alwar Balasubramaniam - Exhibitions - Talwar Gallery

Gravity, 2006

While the box’s ‘life’ ends with the light and the perpetuating shadows that feed its journey, other works speak of latent, unrealized potential. The gallery walls become malleable for some works and as their rigidity rendered pliable by the artist they become infused with life. The seemingly solid structure gently yields to artwork, pushing our senses of perception and being. In another work, numerous large ‘seeds’ nestle together, containing within them Secrets that can only be revealed through the violent act of breaking open the seed. A visual and philosophical riddle, Secrets becomes a mirror to the human conscience, its vulnerabilities and contradictions where destruction and creation/revelation are simultaneous acts.

Balasubramaniam’s latest installations elaborate on the themes explored in his work Dark Light and Container as Content. His earlier work questioned what we see – the subjectivity of our perception. This was followed by works that challenged us to believe in the unseen by situating the hidden in our consciousness. In the most recent body of works Bala has given physical mass to the ephemeral in casting the shadows of shadows. While creating form for the dark and the unseen he is revealing the experience of light and allowing the viewer a glimpse of what is hidden-in-sight.

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Hidden Sight, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, wood

20.63" x 22.63"
Hidden Sight (Detail)
Hidden Sight, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, wood

20.63" x 22.63"

Hidden Sight, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, wood

20.63" x 22.63"

Shadow of the Shadow of the Shadow, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

49" x 150" x 17"
Shadow of the Shadow of the Shadow, 2007
Shadow of the Shadow of the Shadow (Detail)
Shadow of the Shadow of the Shadow (Detail)
Shadow of the Shadow of the Shadow (Detail)
Shadow of the Shadow of the Shadow, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

49" x 150" x 17"

Shadow of the Shadow of the Shadow, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

49" x 150" x 17"

Rest in Resistance, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, two fishing hooks, elastic

37" x 40" x 15" 
Rest in Resistance (Detail)
Rest in Resistance, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, two fishing hooks, elastic

37" x 40" x 15" 

Rest in Resistance, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, two fishing hooks, elastic

37" x 40" x 15" 

Shell as a Body, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

21" x 18" x 8"
Shell as a Body (Detail)
Shell as a Body, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

21" x 18" x 8"

Shell as a Body, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

21" x 18" x 8"

Untitled, 2006

Iron, fiberglass, acrylic

55" x 10 1/2" x 3"
Untitled (Detail)
Untitled, 2006

Iron, fiberglass, acrylic

55" x 10 1/2" x 3"

Untitled, 2006

Iron, fiberglass, acrylic

55" x 10 1/2" x 3"

Untitled, 2007

Silkscreen on acrylic

23" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Untitled, 2007

Silkscreen on acrylic

23" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Gravity, 2006

Fiberglass and acrylic

35" x 10" x 7"
Gravity, 2006
Gravity, 2006

Fiberglass and acrylic

35" x 10" x 7"

Gravity, 2006

Fiberglass and acrylic

35" x 10" x 7"

Secrets, 2007

Silicone, cast fiberglass and hidden objects inside the forms

Dimensions variable, in 16 parts

 
Secrets, 2007
Secrets (Detail)
Secrets (Detail)
Secrets, 2007

Silicone, cast fiberglass and hidden objects inside the forms

Dimensions variable, in 16 parts

 

Secrets, 2007

Silicone, cast fiberglass and hidden objects inside the forms

Dimensions variable, in 16 parts

 

Lost Link, 2007

Iron and fishing line

18" x 16" x 16"
Lost Link, 2007
Lost Link, 2007

Iron and fishing line

18" x 16" x 16"

Lost Link, 2007

Iron and fishing line

18" x 16" x 16"

Untitled, 2007

Silkscreen on acrylic

23" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Untitled, 2007

Silkscreen on acrylic

23" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Hidden Sight, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, wood

20.63" x 22.63"

Hidden Sight, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, wood

20.63" x 22.63"

Shadow of the Shadow of the Shadow, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

49" x 150" x 17"

Shadow of the Shadow of the Shadow, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

49" x 150" x 17"

Rest in Resistance, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, two fishing hooks, elastic

37" x 40" x 15" 

Rest in Resistance, 2007

Fiberglass, acrylic, two fishing hooks, elastic

37" x 40" x 15" 

Shell as a Body, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

21" x 18" x 8"

Shell as a Body, 2007

Fiberglass, wood, acrylic

21" x 18" x 8"

Untitled, 2006

Iron, fiberglass, acrylic

55" x 10 1/2" x 3"

Untitled, 2006

Iron, fiberglass, acrylic

55" x 10 1/2" x 3"

Untitled, 2007

Silkscreen on acrylic

23" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Untitled, 2007

Silkscreen on acrylic

23" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Gravity, 2006

Fiberglass and acrylic

35" x 10" x 7"

Gravity, 2006

Fiberglass and acrylic

35" x 10" x 7"

Secrets, 2007

Silicone, cast fiberglass and hidden objects inside the forms

Dimensions variable, in 16 parts

 

Secrets, 2007

Silicone, cast fiberglass and hidden objects inside the forms

Dimensions variable, in 16 parts

 

Lost Link, 2007

Iron and fishing line

18" x 16" x 16"

Lost Link, 2007

Iron and fishing line

18" x 16" x 16"

Untitled, 2007

Silkscreen on acrylic

23" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Untitled, 2007

Silkscreen on acrylic

23" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2"