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I have a basic philosophy that when it gets too co

I have a basic philosophy that when it gets too complicated it’s time to simplify, sort out the challenge and keep the big picture in mind. News is complicated, social media is complicated, so is politics, money, AI, morals, inequality, feelings, it is an endless list…then I remind myself that we did this to ourselves.
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We Did this to Ourselves, 2020
Wood, stain, pigmented wax
37x28x25 inches
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#jamesgilbert #sculpture #pink #figurative #art #philosophy #lookingatart #complicated #simple

The Act of Generosity and War, 2019, wood, paint,

The Act of Generosity and War, 2019, wood, paint, stain, lacquer, pigmented wax, metal, plastic
53 x 15 x 15inches
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#sculpture #figurativeart #war #nowar #arte #woodcarving #history #ego #artistsoninstagram #news #artcollection #monument #statue #heroic #grave #lifecycle

Some we may never know, 2022 52x42 inches Watercol

Some we may never know, 2022
52x42 inches
Watercolor, gaouche, ink, colored pencil on paper
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#*art #artcollector #artcurator
#artdaily #artgallery #artistic
#artistofinstagram #artistoninstagram
#artistsoninstagram #artlovers
#artofinstagram #artoftheday
#artoninstagram #arts #artstagram #artsy
#artworks #contemporaryart #creative
#drawings #fanart #fineart
#illustrator #instaart #modernart #paint
#sketchbook #watercolor

The Great Migration and Age of Exploration, 2019 w

The Great Migration and Age of Exploration, 2019
wood, stain, paint, wax, metal
68x19x13inches
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#jamesgilbert #sculpture #statue #figurative #monument #artcollector #artgallery #artistsoninstagram #artoftheday #artsy #contemporaryart #contemporaryartcollector #contemporaryartcollectors #contemporaryartdaily #contemporaryartgallery #contemporaryartist #contemporaryarts #contemporaryartwork #contemporarypainting #creative #exhibition #figurativeart #fineart #gallery #instaart #modernart

I have been finding revealing new metaphors for my

I have been finding revealing new metaphors for myself by looking at earlier work from my archive, and have been strategically re-working parts of sculptures I considered completed several years ago. Regardless of how many likes and positive comments it received I had to make it right in my new moment. It feels there is a push for artists to constantly post new work (this should never be considered content). However, there is tremendous value in taking time to understand yourself well enough to know what you present publicly is representative of who you are. I found the title, which I had to lookup, to be even more poignant.

For the First Time I Really Saw Beyond the Appearance, 2017-2022
wood, stain, paint, wax, metal
18 × 15 x 13 inches
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#jamesgilbert #sculpture #rework #knowyourself #contemporaryart #artist #studiovisit #newwork #figurativeart

Three drawings - gouache, watercolor, ink, colored

Three drawings - gouache, watercolor, ink, colored pencil on paper, 52 x 42inches each
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I did some writing and I made some reference drawings while in the waiting room of a hospital to visit a close friend. I can’t decipher what they mean yet nor can I gauge if I crossed a privacy line but watching so many people getting wheeled on gurneys has a placement in my mind. I am fully aware that I can hold opposing thoughts in my mind at the same time - maybe that is the point. These are three drawing that I made since the initial notes and reference sketches. The way I am thinking about personal history, the modes we leave ideas between generations and the ease of misinterpretation as stories and ideas are retold to more easily fit the new narrator.

Detail - - - - - #jamesgilbert #sculpture

Detail
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#jamesgilbert #sculpture

Where I start - - - - - - #woodcarving #art #proce

Where I start
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#woodcarving #art #process #sculpture #glueup #wood #contemporaryart #artist #studiovisit

Are We a Nation of These? is conceived as a public

Are We a Nation of These? is conceived as a public monument. Arguably we have become a nation of provocateurs encouraged by social media platforms that often reward those engaging in pop culture drama, and politically volatile subjects. We fault others to evade our own responsibility and deflect from embarrassing errors in judgement, injustice, and inequity. The distinct fingers point to deeper issues in our culture. To replicate and amplify our collective objectives we elect leaders -The United States Senate has 100 representatives. Are We a Nation of These? is conceived as a monument to all voices. It is a platform for expression, even for those with whom we disagree. But as we evolve, review facts, and apply critical empathetic thinking to history we discover new truths and inevitably topple the old effigies that they no longer align with our new beliefs.

Seeing the House of Representatives crazy happenings of right now, we should all be concerned with whom we are electing to represent our voices.

1. Are We a Nation of These? 2021, Dimension variable (16 x 30 x 63inches - shown) 100 unique fingers on plinths, wood, paint, stain, ink, wax, magnet
2. The Problem and the Solution, 2020, wood, stain, pigmented wax, magnet, 13 3/4x 4 x 4 inches

@erincluleygallery
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#jamesgilbert #sculpture #installation #art #democracy #equality #publicmonument #art #politics #americanpolitics #museum #artcollectors #curator #artoftheday #woodcarving #arte #contemporaryart #contemporarysculpture #inthenews

Thanks to a conversation recently with a curator a

Thanks to a conversation recently with a curator and collector I am rediscovering early work from 2008. I was concerned about social media and how we were exposing too much of our private lives. A large group of soft sculptures were installed, suspended from the ceiling at actual human heights, as if they were mingling at a cocktail party - visitors could walk among them.
Today, we obviously accept social media for all the pros and cons - it is a part of all our lives. I believe our collective psyche has adapted and changed.
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Plastic, thread
human scale
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📷 Erik Asla
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#jamesgilbert #sculpture #softsculpture #sewing #plastic #fiberart #fashion #artofinstagram #artoftheday #dress #suit #installation #socialmedia #clothes #menthatsew #artandfashion #craft #fibercraft #curator #arte #art

How Much Earth for Sale? was completed for @4groun

How Much Earth for Sale? was completed for @4groundbiennial and is looking great in contrast with the dormant native grasses and snow at @franconiamn which is a sculpture park open 365 days a years.

How Much Earth for Sale?
earth, concrete, wood, metal, paint
11 x 14 x 6 feet
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#jamesgilbert #artist #sculpture #outdoorsculpture #publicsculpture #art #artoftheday #seasons #artseason #arte #sculptureartist #contemporaryart #contemporarysculpture #rammedearth #biennial #curator #artinsnow #earthwork #landmark #i̇nstagood #earthforsale #landrights

"| Don't Know, You Don't Know, They Don't Know". L

"| Don't Know, You Don't Know, They Don't Know". Last day to Visit 12-5pm! @erincluleygallery

Recent press covering the exhibition (links in bio):

Hyperallergic review by Lauren Moya Ford

Glasstire Synptic Notes: Recent Exhibitions in Dallas and Houston by William Sarradet

D Magazine: 10 Must See Exhibitions This
Fall by Lauren Smart

Dallas Morning News "Distractions" by
Lauren Smart
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📷 Kevin Todora
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#jamesgilbert #recentpress #sculpture #drawing #losangelesartist #laartist #hyperallergic #glasstire #dmagazine #dallasmorningnews #instadaily #contemporaryart #installationphotography #contemporarysculpture #artist #galleryexhbition #lastday

Thank you to all that saw “I Don’t Know, You D

Thank you to all that saw “I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know.” For those that didn’t get a chance here is a fast walk thru.

Recent press covering the exhibition (links in bio):

Hyperallergic review by Lauren Moya Ford

Glasstire Synptic Notes: Recent Exhibitions in Dallas and Houston by William Sarradet

D Magazine: 10 Must See Exhibitions This
Fall by Lauren Smart

Dallas Morning News "Distractions" by
Lauren Smart

Thank you to everyone at @erincluleygallery for presenting and sharing my work. ✨✨✨
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#jamesgilbert #artist #sculpture #exhibition #walkthru #walkthrough #contemporaryart #art #artoftheday #installation #contemporarysculpture #artcollections #gouache #watercolor #coloredpencils #drawing #woodcarving #arte #artistsoninstagram #instagood #woodcarving #figurativeart #workonpaper #portraitdrawing #colorful #colorfuldrawing #history #generations #ancestors #dallas #dallasgallery

Evening Would Bring it’s Familiar Strangeness, 2

Evening Would Bring it’s Familiar Strangeness, 2022, wood, stain, metal, wax, 10 1/2 x 30 x 13inches

I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know
Currently on view at @erincluleygallery thru November 12th
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#jamesgilbert #artist #sculpture #art #artoftheday #exhibition #artgallery #contemporaryart #contemporarysculpture #figurativeart #wood #twoheads #arte #heads #artcollections

Good & Plenty (1 & 2) 2011 Plastic, thread, wood,

Good & Plenty (1 & 2) 2011
Plastic, thread, wood, paint, ceramic dishes.
34 x 35 x 19inches
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As most Americans prepare to vote or have their vote counted today we already know that many will also be extremely disappointed or angry that their candidate didn’t win. This is on a day where the news reports on candidates who would be the most dangerous for our country, but to which part of our country?
I believe work should have a reason to exist and it be made about the time we live. These works were not made about the right to vote or elections but today they could be.
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#jamesgilbert #artist #losangeles #sculpture #contemporarysculpture #art #artoftheday #artistofinstagram #relationships #curator #chairs #chairsinart #artcurator #artfornow #artandpolitics #artofinstagram #artcollections #artcollector #arte #pinkandwhite #contemporaryart #conceptualart #fragile #vote

One more week to see - I Don’t Know, You Don’t

One more week to see - I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know - with one gallery wall having 138 drawings.

For these drawing it was about showing multiple generations in one portrait. There was an intimacy in the accumulation of overlapping faces and a need to look carefully.

Visit @erincluleygallery for more information

Unknown series, 2022
14 x 11 inches each
gouache, watercolor, ink, colored pencil on paper
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#jamesgilbert #drawings #mixedmediaart #workonpaper #gouache #watercolor #coloredpencils #artexhibition #galleryexhbition #artist #art #arte #artistsoninstagram #artoftheday #figurativeart #portrait #portraitdrawing #colorful #colorfuldrawing #history #color #generations #ancestors #dallas #dallasgallery

I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Kno

I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know - This work reflects on the realization that throughout history we’ve seen the impervious systematic destruction of heritage by the power of ideological reasoning and self-serving political agendas. If we cannot know our history, where we came from, who participated, who suffered, how it felt for all involved, how can we attempt to understand the present struggles and even start thinking of a more inclusive and just future? How is it that we are going to know the nature of things which are unknown to us because they have yet to be told? How do we go about seeing the faces of our ancestors and hearing their voices if only a few of their images have been preserved while others have been intentionally removed?

For in this moment, I want to remain optimistic as sometimes you find yourself in a strange place and other times in a strange place you find yourself.

I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know on view at @erincluleygallery thru November 12th
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Photographs by Kevin Todora
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#jamesgilbert #artist #exhibition #artcollector #artcollection #history #generation #artifact #portrait #ancestry #drawing #sculpture #artoftheday #art #arte #contemporaryart #installation

I title sculptures with key phrases I’ve written

I title sculptures with key phrases I’ve written about in my journal or concepts I’m already working through and then they become part of the larger series. But, more often, I am working through forms as responses to news or my research and the title is a corresponding relationship. This one is a figure intentionally hidden inside a lumpy box but a displaced nose and ears are misaligned outside. The shift is in the sensory awareness. Maybe we are in that time in history which I’ll describe as I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know - also the title of my current exhibition. I also always like a good strange surprise in sculpture.

What I know for certain, everyday I wake up I hope for an opportunity, and everyday my heart is broken. I know the elusive opportunity is one I have to work for and find because they are rarely presented directly to you. The trick is, you have to be prepared when they finally do arrive.
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The Thing you are Looking for is the Thing you Weren’t Looking For, 2021, wood, stain, wax, 31x11x12inches

Currently on view in my solo exhibition, “I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know” @erincluleygallery
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#jamesgilbert #sculpture #figurativesculpture #detailofsculpture #artoftheday #sculptra #contemporarysculpture #contemporarycraft #woodcarving #sculptor #arte #artexhibition #sensory #surprise #history

The idea of a skull carries the ultimate meaning.

The idea of a skull carries the ultimate meaning. Perhaps, it is because as a representation it remains completely unresolved in any agreeable meaning, which is why the metaphorical usage is so varied. History, celebration of life, the unknown, taboo, mortality, a clear representation of someone we loved or may have never known.
I have utilized it in my own work many times and with each one I have decided a different way that they help me to remain curious.
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There Are Only Two Dates That Have Meaning, 2017
wood, paint, pigmented wax
22 x 5 1/2 x 6 inches
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#jamesgilbert #sculpture #skull #skullcarving #woodcarving #metaphorofdeath #artoftheday #skullinart #arthistory #life #hope #unknown #artcollector #artcollection #birth #lifecycle #skullmeaning

I have been fascinated with the stories told by fa

I have been fascinated with the stories told by faces, and the discovery of what older faces looked like when people were young and how youth’s faces age. If after three generations we cannot recall our own relatives, how could we possibly know our overarching collective history? I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know

I we cannot know our history, where we came from, who participated, who suffered, the identity of the winners and the losers and how it felt for all involved, how can we attempt to understand the present struggles and even start thinking of a more inclusive and just future? How is it that we are going to know the nature of things which are unknown to us because they have yet to be told? How do we go about seeing the faces of our ancestors and hearing their voices if only a few of their images have been preserved while others have been intentionally removed?

I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know currently on view @erincluleygallery through November 12th

Unknown series
14 x 11inches each
Gouache, watercolor, ink, colored pencil on paper
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#jamesgilbert #drawing #workonpaper #artexhibition #artoftheday #arte #galleryexhibition #history #faces #portrait #unknown #colorfulportraits #youth #generation #ancestry #artist #art #artistofinstagram #losangeles #dallas

I know my parents, my grandparents but don’t kno

I know my parents, my grandparents but don’t know much of my great grandparents or preceding generations. Most of us don’t know more than three generations of our own families. If we don’t know our own history then how could we possibly know our collective history? This is where we encounter a repetition of unresolved problems. “I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know” currently on view at Erin Cluley Gallery.

Included are 138 drawings on a large wall. I wanted each drawing to be generational with multiple faces of the same family overlapping within one face, upside down, minimized, shifted in perspective.

The sculpture has similar stacking of generations but I think of it as more of a history of philosophies. With each generation we learn new ideas to contribute to knowledge and welfare of our communities. But, with each generation we realize if we don’t look after ourselves then there will always be someone that is willing to take advantage for their own benefit.

138 drawings
Unknown series
Gouache, watercolor, ink, colored pencil on paper
14 x 11 inches each

The Great Migration and Age of Exploration, 2019
wood, stain, paint, metal, pigmented wax
68 x 19 x 13 inches

Currently on view at @erincluleygallery
📷 @kevintodora
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#jamesgilbert #exhibition #galleryexhibition #sculpture #drawing #painting #history #ancestry #philosophy #portraits #unknownportrait #woodcarving #contemporaryart #artexhibition #installation #installationview

Where Does I and We Begin, 2022 Gouache, watercolo

Where Does I and We Begin, 2022
Gouache, watercolor, ink, colored pencil on paper
52 x 42 inches
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Currently on view at @erincluleygallery through November 12, I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know
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#jamesgilbert #drawing #painting #workonpaper #art #contemporaryart #exhibition

Dallas Morning News today! Nice history review of

Dallas Morning News today! Nice history review of my exhibitions in Dallas at @dallascontemporary and the current exhibition at @erincluleygallery
I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know - on view through November 12th
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Thank you @nancoulter and @laurenissmart
@dallasnews
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#jamesgilbert #exhibition #art #press #artexhbition #artwriter #dallas #scuplture #drawing #dallasmorningnews #artgallery #exhibitionnews

A deliberate choice I have made for sculpture in m

A deliberate choice I have made for sculpture in my current exhibition I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know is to show all material flaws and imperfect joinery. These recent wood carvings show who we are, flawed and imperfect. The joinery are the repairs that each of us can do to make ourselves better people or to become the person that we want to be. There is always room for improvement. With this sculpture I recognize that it can be both a moment of quiet contemplation and reflection or a gesture of compliance. I feel there is vulnerability with both. It is currently on view at @erincluleygallery
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Kneel, 2020
wood, stain, metal, pigment wax
20 x 22 x 22 inches
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#jamesgilbert #sculpture #contemporaryart #protest #prayer #surrender #politicalart #contemplation #compliance #history #statue #monument #artcollection #artist #carving #news #fineart #curator #artgallery #figurative #arte #calm #anxiety #momentofreflection #kneel

Thank you to everyone that attended the opening th

Thank you to everyone that attended the opening this past Saturday of “I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know” at Erin Cluley Gallery, Dallas @erincluleygallery
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A few installation images with more to come
📷Kevin Todora
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#jamesgilbert #artist #losangeles #galleryexhibition #dallas #arte #contemporaryart #sculpture #drawing #installation #worksonpaper

Installing a wall of drawings at Erin Cluley Galle

Installing a wall of drawings at Erin Cluley Gallery. 138 drawings for I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know. Opening Saturday, October 8th, 5-8pm. I’ll be there. Come see the exhibition and say hi.

A big thank you to the entire team at the gallery, Erin, Krista, Steve. @erincluleygallery
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#jamesgilbert #drawing #painting #artgallery #exhibitionopening #losangelesartist #contemporaryart #portrait #mixedmediaonpaper #workonpaper #faces #timelapse

Opening October 8th 5-8pm at Erin Cluley Gallery,

Opening October 8th 5-8pm at Erin Cluley Gallery, Dallas, I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know – a solo exhibition by Los Angeles based artist James Gilbert.

In his artistic practice, James Gilbert traverses a breadth of media all with an eye for whimsy, sincerity and style. His obsessive repetition of objects—rarely without his signature pink and white coloring—gives scale to the overwhelming accumulation of contemporary social injustices. Nonetheless, his flair for humor betrays a certain optimism, a willingness to play not as a coping mechanism, but as an exercise in possibility. Across his work, Gilbert allows for introspection: as viewers are encouraged to see clearer the blemishes and devastating absurdity that color our shared histories.

For his solo exhibition, I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know, James Gilbert explores themes of cultural heritage and genetic lineage—all with cutting wit. His bold figures show the talent of an artist fully confident in his abilities. Incorporating drawing and sculpture, Gilbert’s new work acknowledges the messy nature of community, not helped by the equally messy political and social climate of the past few years.

Presented in the gallery will be a selection of sculpture alongside a body of drawings – a dynamic and complex intersection of Gilbert’s practice. An installation of 130+ drawings will cover one of the large walls in the gallery reinforcing the artist’s fascination with the stories told by faces and the changing of information over generations.

James Gilbert
“Hollow the Bone” 2021
Wood, stain, metal, wax
47 x 11 x 10 inches

James Gilbert
“History and Tradition, I” 2022
Gouache, watercolor, ink, colored pencil on paper
25 1/8 x 18 7/8 inches
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#jamesgilbert @erincluleygallery #sculpture #drawing #exhibition #artgallery #dallas

Starting to look like fall @franconiamn How Much E

Starting to look like fall @franconiamn
How Much Earth for Sale?
11x14x6 feet
earth, concrete, wood, metal, paint
📷 @rachellroams
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#jamesgilbert #landart #rammedearth #publicsculpture #outdoorsculpture #sculpture #art #arte #autumn #fall #installation #installationart

Coming soon…a selection of drawings and sculptur

Coming soon…a selection of drawings and sculpture at @erincluleygallery #dallas October 8th
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Unknown, 2022
Gouache, watercolor, ink, colored pencil on paper
14 x 11 inches
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#jamesgilbert #drawing #sculpture #exhibition #contemporaryart

Coming soon…A very small selection of what I wil

Coming soon…A very small selection of what I will be exhibiting next month in #dallas @erincluleygallery opening October 8th
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#jamesgilbert #drawing #portrait #faces #history #mixedmedia #goauche #ink #coloredpencil #paper #color #painting #contemporaryart #artiststudio #studiovisit

Ongoing - Lots of great programs and events aroun

Ongoing - Lots of great programs and events around @4groundbiennial @franconiamn this weekend. Stop by see sculptures in the park, experience sound, scent and performances
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How Much Earth for Sale?
Earth, concrete, wood, metal, paint
11x14x6 feet
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Building with rammed earth is the one of the oldest techniques. Civilizations have historically relied on earth as an available material - it is durable, cost effective with minimal environmental impact.

How Much Earth is for Sale? is conceived as a monument, even for those with whom we disagree. We have become a nation of judgmental provocateurs, leveraging social media platforms to saturate the popular zeitgeist with superficiality, while evading taking responsibility on what’s at stake: access to justice, historical redress, environmental disasters, and racial inequity. We are spurring divisions and conflicts within our communities and households.

A staple of federal and state cases related to Native American land title for 200 years is Johnson v. M'Intosh, 21 U.S. (7 Wheat.) 543 (1823). The landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court held that private citizens could not purchase lands from Native Americans. The legal result was that the only conveyances executing valid transfers of land title ownership with Native Americans were the one transacted with the Federal Government: creating a system of monopoly, annihilating free market-style biddings and enabling the acquisition of Native American lands at the lowest possible cost.

The home frame replicates that of a Monopoly board-game piece and the lines of the home painted in ‘warning and safety’ color orange

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#jamesgilbert #biennial #sculpture #publicart #contemporaryart #rammedearth #landart #landrights #art #realestate #monument #history

Studio visit. Planning for fall/winter exhibitions

Studio visit. Planning for fall/winter exhibitions
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#jamesgilbert #studiovisit #sculpture #contemporaryart #artist #art #pink #woodcarving #figurative

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