HALSEY MCKAY GALLERY

Halsey McKay Gallery is pleased to present The Unseen, an exhibiton of new wall-based scluptural work by David B. Smith at 56 Henry Street, New York. In this enveloping installation, Smith’s jarring yet comfortable works evoke a chamber from another dimension. His hauntingly complex vocabulary weaves his own photographs, nostalgic pop imagery, and pixelation, into organic forms that strike a balance between the warmth of the known and the anxiety of the alien.  This installation is a snapshot of the evolution of his unique language – a portal into his aggressively prolific practice of collecting and de-constructing images, and a step into an alternate reality.

Smith begins with emotionally resonant photos and memory-filled screenshots from daily life.  He alters and collages these in Photoshop and has the image files digitally woven into tapestries.  He then physically, cuts, stuffs, and crafts the fabric into strange and beguiling forms, using an approach similar to that of computer coding – systematically transforming and de-constructing as a means of creation.  The resulting objects are physical records of these acts of assertive change and renewal. Smith’s soft fabric forms generate a nostalgia for stuffed animals, blankets, and hazily familiar plant and animal forms.  The result is a feeling of being surprised, comforted and confounded.  This place of tension provides a space for reflection on the unseen in the seen, the unheard in the heard, the known and the unknown. This paradox invites the viewer to experience this installation as a den of the other – a liminal space to feel at home.

The Unseen is David B. Smith’s second solo exhibition with Halsey McKay. Other exhibitons include Extruded Daydream, Spring Break, New York, NY; Seeing Backwards, Calico Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. Recent group exhibitions include Olimpia’s Eyes at Zevitas Marcus, Los Angeles and Mi Casa, Tu Casa, at Johannes Vogt Gallery, New York. This summer Smith completed a Jerome Fellowship at Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, MN.  His work has been featured in the New York Times, Vice, The Washington Post and Observer Arts, among others.

For more information please contact info@halseymckay.com.