Chris Gentile

Reincarnation Blues

July 2 through August 15, 2009

Gregory Lind Gallery is pleased to present "Reincarnation Blues," a new exhibition of photographs by New York-based artist Chris Gentile. Gentile's exhibition features photographed renditions of his abstract sculptures (composed of elements such as wood, corrugated cardboard, plaster, plastic, and cherries). Presenting once-removed renditions of pre-fabricated work exhibited solely through two-dimensional photographs, Gentile skews the plausibility of inherent meaning.

Gentile's photography re-renders and re-shapes the reality of his objects such that shots from a particular angle, in addition to the flatness of the images, obfuscate our ability to make out an identifiable shape, material, scale, or environment. Rather than hinting at familiar spaces for the manufacturing of his sculptures - such as a gallery or studio - Gentile's photographs confound the physical placement of his objects to startling ends.

"Reincarnation Blues" consists of photographs of objects that often appear to tell a distinct story, based on movement and the suggestion of specific emotions and characteristics. Concomitant with the title of the show, the assembled works present themes such as nostalgia, the decay of identity and disintegration of order over time, the human desire to construct a narrative from a series of often disconnected events, the ennui of modern life, and the nature of sorrow itself. Often, the work utilizes materials and images that convey melancholy, but not to the exclusion of serendipity and beauty. Gentile uses "whatever is necessary to complete the work," often imbuing his images with materials that inherently hold metaphoric possibilities and trigger memories (e.g., pink rosin paper or office supplies).

Chris Gentile was born in Rhode Island and received his MFA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Exhibitions include "Always the Sun," Richard E. Peeler Art Center, Greencastle, IN, 2009; "Half Colors of Quarter Things," Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York, NY, 2009; and "Shot Spot," Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA, 2008. His work has been profiled in various publications, including Artforum, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and San Francisco Bay Guardian. This is Gentile's second solo exhibition with Gregory Lind Gallery. He lives and works in New York.