Needles & Pens presents,
OK
a solo exhibition by
Damien Hoar de Galvan
Boston based artist Damien Hoar de Galvan will be exhibiting a gallery full of mixed media wooden sculptural works in first ever California solo show.
Opens November 6, 2015
6:00-9:30 p.m.
(and runs through 12/31/15)
Artist Statement:
For the last 5 or so years the work I have been making has been smallish wooden sculptures. The wood I use is almost always found or reused/recycled or whatever term is most en vogue to describe art material not bought for that purpose. There is a practicality to working like this but it is also often an aesthetic choice as well, wood or other material that is old or used is generally more visually appealing to me and often gives me a starting point to begin a new work. The act of making something is the way I have found to be the most useful and satisfied to myself at the end of the day. It is probably as simple as that, a way to keep myself busy and feel like I’m being productive in some way. I begin with small bits of wood, painted or not. Then it is a matter of playing with them until I can see some way they will start to fit together. It’s sort of like a puzzle with no picture to use as a reference. Visual and structural problems often quickly arise and it is then that a piece will begin to develop. I suppose I almost seek out the problems in order to continue making them, it all becomes a way to stay interested and motivated to work. I describe the process of making here in this statement because that is much of what the work is about. It is process based work and it took me a long time to come to terms with that (I’m probably still coming to terms). It is the act of making that satisfies and frustrates me. It is dealing with my own personal emotions and feelings while making that I suppose the work is about. Maybe this is why I titled the show “ok”, because ok for me describes a strange ambivalent satisfaction. The way life is, up and down but hopefully (for me) ok. If I can work the way I want to and feel good about myself at the end of the day then I think that is probably a worthwhile endeavor.
– Damien Hoar de Galvan
