Jeff Bailey Gallery is pleased to present Will Duty: Vorstellung.
Like a black hole, in which the exterior boundary is proportional to the amount of information contained within, Duty's drawings describe a vast cosmos on the flat surface of the picture plane.
Dense graphite fields envelop abstracted astronomical forms. Through a variety of visual transformations: iterative mirrorings, collapsings, anamorphoses, and distorted pixilations, shapes derived from planetary and other imageries manifest and replicate into complex abstractions.
In Untitled (00018), Duty presents a symmetrical image, a central elevated plane echoed by gradually widening vistas. Emerging from a reflective rectangle, the image implies duration and resonance. Similar to a diamond, which requires cutting to expose its geometries, a fractalization of this simple rectangular form reveals a structure that is at once familiar and esoteric.
A current of unease runs through Untitled (00021). Diamond-shaped shards of thousands of white spots multiply into a massive form, resting on two points. The shape, resembling a moth, seems to continue to grow both vertically and horizontally.
The German word Vorstellung is used as the exhibition's title. It describes the forming of an image with objects not present to the senses. Duty's illusory drawings suggest a real beyond any known forms.
This is Will Duty's second solo exhibition at the gallery. His drawings have been exhibited in group exhibitions at The Drawing Center, New York, The Tang Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, and Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He received a BS from the University of Chicago and a BFA from The Cooper Union, New York. He lives and works in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
