Volume Gallery is participating in the 10th edition of NADA New York taking place May 2-5 at 548 West in West Chelsea’s gallery district with work by Ricki Dwyer, Luftwerk, and Anders Ruhwald.
New handwoven pieces by Ricki Dwyer quote sections from William Morris repeat patterns in bamboo thread, which subtly resists a gradient of synthetic dye. The works are dipped in a mixture of aniline dye in shades entitled Golden Delicious, Rosewood, and Aqua and are pinned to the stretcher with tacks. Dwyer’s ongoing interest in textile material and labor histories as they have intertwined with economic systems and cultural shifts is akin to William Morris’s socialist politics and devotion to textiles. Dwyer sees his work as part of a lineage of skilled labor–his deconstructed and sculptural textile pieces embody the intersection of personal and industrial production with the somatic.
Color is often the basis for Luftwerk’s exploration. The interaction of light and matter shapes our visual experience and inspired the duo’s latest work, Polychromatic, a series of artworks of painted gradients combined with color-changing light that captures optical, aural, and physical qualities of natural phenomena. Combining light with color adds a dynamic layer and creates shifts in perception while forming new visual experiences.
In Anders Ruhwald’s recent abstracted busts of Henry David Thoreau, the writer is represented in a broad color palette. Nature’s own hues, such as azure, teal, ebony, and olive, wash the ceramic musings of his likeness. The liquid finish of the glazed surfaces resembles Walden Pond’s dancing first layer, as much as a mercurial elixir sculpting itself into an army of emotion-free heads. Ceramic masks on stands by Ruhwald reflect on the relationship between body and surface, conflating external and internal experiences of the world.
NADA New York 2024 will showcase a dynamic selection from 92 galleries, art spaces, and non-profit organizations spanning 15 countries and 31 cities. NADA New York is an expression of the organization’s commitment to the city, both as the cultural mecca in which the association’s headquarters and exhibition space are located, as well as a global epicenter of emerging and established galleries and artists.