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PRESS RELEASE
Joseph Havel
To Bring, To Take
October 15 through November 13, 2004
Dunn and Brown Contemporary is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Joseph Havel. The opening of the exhibition will take place on Friday, October 15 from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. The artist will be present for the opening, and the exhibition will continue through Saturday, November 13.
Central to the work in this exhibition is the exploration of contradictions. The work displayed consists of formally unified sculptures which individually embody contrasting readings. The primary contradiction is between each work as an image with an associative reading versus it’s physical presence as an object. A grammatical mistake Havel used to make frequently, supplanting the phrase to take with the phrase to bring, became the source for the title of the exhibition. The two words, while related, are actually oppositional in meaning.
The exhibition is comprised of five bronze pieces. With these pieces, Havel explores the contradictions between the concrete and the metaphorical. Two large bronze ball forms, To Bring and To Take become the physical manifestation of the title. The works differ primarily in the associative meanings characterized by the degree of calm or turbulence in their form. Two smaller bronze ball like sculptures, Thirty Bedsheets and White Shirt Ball, muddy a literal reading of their descriptive titles by suggesting a underlying metaphoric meaning. The final bronze, Flannel Duvet Cover, stands alone; monumental in scale yet intimate in association.
Five small works on paper and three large drawings are included in the exhibition as well. The works on paper continue the exploration of contradiction. Havel’s drawings have an ephemeral feel to them reminiscent of the fabric that inspires his bronze pieces. Marks that at first appear quite literal belie a subtle opposition upon closer inspection. While quiet and airy, these pieces command attention amidst a sea of bronze.
Havel’s work was included in the 2000 Biennial Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. He has also shown at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas and the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas. Havel’s sculptures and drawings can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Art, Houston; the Contemporary Arts Museum, Honolulu; Dallas Museum of Art; Musee Arte, Roubaix, France; and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Havel lives and works in Houston, Texas. He currently serves as the Director of the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Please contact Elizabeth Phy at the gallery for additional information or to request visuals. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. and by appointment.