Joseph Havel
13 Sep - 25 Oct 2014
JOSEPH HAVEL
Sphere
13 September - 25 October 2014
Sphere (noun)
a. A geometric figure generated by the revolution of a semicircle about its diameter.
b. The surface of such a figure. A spherical surface.
c. A planet or star. A heavenly body.
d. Celestial sphere: any of the transparent, concentric, shells or layers in which according to ancient belief, heavenly bodies were set
e. The place or environment within a person or thing exists; a field of activity or operation
f. A particular social world, stratum of society, walk of life, or space of influence
Joseph Havel’s September 2014 exhibit at Galerie Gabrielle Maubrie begins at the intersection of the multiple, simple but contradictory definitions of “sphere”. An environment to act out influence, celestial form, simple geometric shape, container of volume, or social stratum: the central question becomes simply what is a sphere or perhaps more importantly how do we make one. How do we influence a space and encourage it to become something more specific, a place or sphere. The exhibit examines the connective associative fibers of this question creating a series of objects that frame the inquiery without answering it. They form a multi-faceted collective definition of sphere each with their own individual associative sources and histories but forming also a “place or environment within a person or thing exists”.
Using multiple materials; bronze, transparent urethane resin, found books and the detritus of the everyday diverse elements are pulled together to ask a “celestial” question about orbits, influence and association. The use of common objects has been a fixture in Havel’s work since the 1980’s and this body of work reintroduces some of the actors in Havel’s oeuvre; shirt collars, clothing, books, and bed sheets as well as introducing new elements such as the football (soccer) which has now entered the sphere of influence. The found materials root the work in the everyday contrasting with the historical associations of bronze or the precious jewel like qualities of the cast resin.
The common saying that “everything is connected through six degrees of separation” recognizes that no phenomena is isolated. There is always linkage; cause and effect between what we perceive as isolated individuals and incidents. This exhibit examines how the forces of those connections form a geometry.
Sphere
13 September - 25 October 2014
Sphere (noun)
a. A geometric figure generated by the revolution of a semicircle about its diameter.
b. The surface of such a figure. A spherical surface.
c. A planet or star. A heavenly body.
d. Celestial sphere: any of the transparent, concentric, shells or layers in which according to ancient belief, heavenly bodies were set
e. The place or environment within a person or thing exists; a field of activity or operation
f. A particular social world, stratum of society, walk of life, or space of influence
Joseph Havel’s September 2014 exhibit at Galerie Gabrielle Maubrie begins at the intersection of the multiple, simple but contradictory definitions of “sphere”. An environment to act out influence, celestial form, simple geometric shape, container of volume, or social stratum: the central question becomes simply what is a sphere or perhaps more importantly how do we make one. How do we influence a space and encourage it to become something more specific, a place or sphere. The exhibit examines the connective associative fibers of this question creating a series of objects that frame the inquiery without answering it. They form a multi-faceted collective definition of sphere each with their own individual associative sources and histories but forming also a “place or environment within a person or thing exists”.
Using multiple materials; bronze, transparent urethane resin, found books and the detritus of the everyday diverse elements are pulled together to ask a “celestial” question about orbits, influence and association. The use of common objects has been a fixture in Havel’s work since the 1980’s and this body of work reintroduces some of the actors in Havel’s oeuvre; shirt collars, clothing, books, and bed sheets as well as introducing new elements such as the football (soccer) which has now entered the sphere of influence. The found materials root the work in the everyday contrasting with the historical associations of bronze or the precious jewel like qualities of the cast resin.
The common saying that “everything is connected through six degrees of separation” recognizes that no phenomena is isolated. There is always linkage; cause and effect between what we perceive as isolated individuals and incidents. This exhibit examines how the forces of those connections form a geometry.