Paul Swenbeck and Joy Feasley: Moons of a Dewdrop
Adams and Ollman
June 7–July 20, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, June 7, 6–9pm

 
May 14, 2013 – Portland, OR: Adams and Ollman presents Moons of a Dewdrop, a collaborative installation by Paul Swenbeck and Joy Feasley, on view from June 7 through July 20, 2013. With shared interests in geology, magic, science fiction, and fringe belief systems, Swenbeck and Feasley experiment across a variety of media. Together the pair creates an otherworldly experience that is rooted in art history as well as craft and folk traditions.

Central to the exhibition will be a crystalline geometric form that will house clay, wire, resin, and glass sculptures that suggest a ceremonial function. A selection of paintings influenced by science fiction illustrations and Romantic landscape paintings will also be on view. Typical subject matter like trees, sunsets, and waves give way to neon mountains and hot pink skies, describing a mood and capturing the invisible. Ceramic works in the exhibition are inspired by Neolithic ritual objects, fossil forms, and Jōmon pottery, as well as the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, which celebrates the imperfect and irregular. Also on view will be photographic prints that are made using a prism and that reveal apparitions, disjunctures, time warps and other things unseen in the landscape. Together, the artists’ work forms a supernatural cabinet of curiosities.

Paul Swenbeck (b. 1967) graduated with a degree in ceramics from Massachusetts College of Art in 1991. His work has been exhibited at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; The Morris Gallery, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Fleisher/Ollman, Philadelphia; Vox Populi, Philadelphia; Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston.

Joy Feasley (b. 1966) studied at Massachusetts College of Art, Cooper Union, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her work has been shown widely in Philadelphia, including solo exhibitions at Locks Gallery, Fleisher Art Memorial, and Vox Populi. She has also shown in group exhibitions in Raleigh, North Carolina; Tokyo, Japan; Waltham, Massachusetts; and Brooklyn, New York. Feasley will have a solo exhibition at Locks Gallery, Philadelphia in Fall 2013.

Listing Information:

Adams and Ollman: 811 East Burnside #213 | Portland, OR 97214 | 503.724.0684
Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 11am–5pm and by appointment
Public Information: www.adamsandollman.com
Exhibition Dates: June 7–July 20, 2013
Opening Reception: Friday, June 7, 2013, from 6–9pm

Upcoming Exhibition: Jennifer Levonian and Pearl Blauvelt | July 26–August 30, 2013

Press Contact: Emily Gaynor | emily@adamsandollman.com

Images, from left to right: Paul Swenbeck, The Ether Window, 2012, glazed terracotta and resin,
5 x 17 x 15 inches; Paul Swenbeck and Joy Feasley, 2013, Moons in a Dewdrop, vinyl paint on medium density overboard, 24 x 30 inches.