~TOM FORKIN . . ‘THE ELECTRICIAN’ / SOMEDAY / up thru MARCH 19
the very perfection of: NEW EDGE CITY
TOM FORKIN . . . ‘The Electrician’ – a solo exhibition of new work !!
opened Feb 19th
runs thru . . . SAT, MARCH 19, 2022
SOMEDAY GALLERY
120 Walker St., #3R / TRIBECA, DOWNTOWN NYC 10013
HRS: THURS – SAT / 11am – 6 PM
TOM FORKIN installation shot via Instagram @someday_gal
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
I’m sure as hell, don’t know what the fig, oops fungii – it’s all about, and that . . intrigues me. though, I’m also sure as hell, that plenty people: poets & academics alike / could write scads of paper on the show’s ultimate meaning.
the title: ‘The Electrician’ – is brilliant, though don’t ask me to explain that, either !!
and, make a note: of the actual scale of the watercolors, up on the wall / just to the right of center. (on the wall).
I guess we can chalk this one up to: m-y-s-t-e-r-y brought upon by via hyper, over-sized realism.
sheer poetry of skills, and of course – dig those small watercolors !!
they seem to be romantic city-scapes / imbued with turn-of-the-century Victorian . . ‘vapors’ & haunting illumination.
of a fleeting, realist – nature.
strange bed-fellows . huge, meticulous 3-D mushrooms vs. tiny, dreamy streets, parks – caught on the flimiest of brushwork.
note: watercolor – seems to be in a huge revival – these days.
I find that very interesting.
ok, so: unlike the brief text above – I can actually address that thought block – most, definitively !!
contrarian-born person that I am, born under the sign of Aires ignited by flames / I almost got kicked out of my MFA Studio grad program in Montreal, in the 70’s / the era of huge, color-field painting & dry, minimalist Agnes Martin type pencil rulings / with my self-taught, strong-willed, but way dreamy . . small scale watercolors, greatly influenced by Edo period Japanese woodblock prints & poetry. they were also quick in spirit too, fast brushwork & thin wash . . very much like these, in technique.
I must have been the only person in the entire painting program – if, not the greater art scene in general, who knew what Windsor Newton meant, knew how to care for fine-tipped sable brushes, & how to tell the difference between hot vs. cold press Arches paper.
TOM FORKIN, Mushroom.
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
I’m thinking: very much . . a small, realist watercolor – come to life / as a huge sculpture.
“Six large sculptures, six small watercolors, six main sources of electrical energy. The sculptures – paper-skinned mushrooms shaped from wire mesh – are staged in a frozen choreography.”
~gallery essay
TOM FORKIN – ‘The Electrian’/ installation shot
via SOMEDAY GALLERY
“The watercolors depict the warm glow of street lamps, composed with a snapshot vernacular and repeated obsessively from different perspectives. / There are many forms of illumination – industrial, chemical, intellectual, spiritual. A lot of the built world mimics sources of light seen in nature. Most mushrooms are known for their superior light-absorption capabilities – able to soak up & store large amounts of vitamin D from the sun . . . .
Other species of fungi appeal to a different kind of illumination – capable of breaking down the rational mind, dissolving the ego, and stimulating spiritual enlightenment.”
ahhhh: “Psilocybin can identified by a set of distinct physical characteristics: plump, golden caps, purple gils, bluish flesh and stems that, once dried, appear flakey, likestrands of hair when observed under a microscope.”
~both quotes: gallery essay
TOM FORKIN, detail mushroom sculpture
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
“The sculptures – paper-skinned mushrooms shaped from wire mesh” /
“In Gifu Japan, a region dense with luciferin fungi, fireflies, and other bioluminescent organisms, artisans have perfected the craft of hand-made lanterns formed from rice paper & bamboo, that seek to similarly capture the weightlessness of light.”
~gallery essay
TOM FORKIN, watercolor, in ‘The Electrician’
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
so, huh: is God – the master Electrician ?
(my son would love that . . word play, Not.)
TOM FORKIN, watercolor – street lamps.
image via SOMEDAY GALLERY
“The watercolors depict the warm glow of street lamps . . ”
~gallery essay
read: the entire essay here, & see more pix / SOMEDAY GALLERY
check out: SOMEDAY GALLERY on Instagram @someday_gal
check out: TOM FORKIN on Instagram @fork_in_tom