Solo exhibition at Erin Cluley Gallery, Dallas, Texas
October 8th – November 12th
ERIN CLULEY GALLERY, Dallas Texas, is pleased to announce I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know – a solo exhibition by Los Angeles based artist James Gilbert. The exhibition will be on view October 8th through November 12th, 2022, at the gallery’s main location, 150 Manufacturing Street, Suite 210. An opening reception will be held Saturday, October 8th from 5 – 8 PM with the artist in attendance. The gallery is open weekly Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 5 PM and by appointment.
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.
Gilbert’s use of raw, naturally-flawed materials—wood, wax and metal—conveys an honest uncertainty in what to make of the unfolding future. Half-human, Half-abstract figures continue their creator’s line of questioning; What is the legacy of contradicting ideologies in education and culture? How can we reconcile a dangerously forgetful history? Who knows what are the right questions to ask?
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 138 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.
Gilbert states, “I believe in making work that unveils our human condition and also gestures toward the effort to understand cultural history and memory of being, time and place. 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 will be the artist’s second solo exhibition in Dallas. Gilbert’s first solo exhibition was in 2010 at Dallas Contemporary. His exhibition Warnings and Instructions was the inaugural exhibition in the museum’s Glass Street location.
150 MANUFACTURING STREET, SUITE 210 DALLAS, TEXAS 75207 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
+ 214 760 1155
ERINCLULEY.COM
Share
Solo exhibition at Erin Cluley Gallery, Dallas, Texas
October 8th – November 12th
Photographs by Kevin Todora
ERIN CLULEY GALLERY, Dallas Texas, is pleased to announce I Don’t Know, You Don’t Know, They Don’t Know – a solo exhibition by Los Angeles based artist James Gilbert. The exhibition will be on view October 8th through November 12th, 2022, at the gallery’s main location, 150 Manufacturing Street, Suite 210. An opening reception will be held Saturday, October 8th from 5 – 8 PM with the artist in attendance. The gallery is open weekly Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 5 PM and by appointment.
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.
Gilbert’s use of raw, naturally-flawed materials—wood, wax and metal—conveys an honest uncertainty in what to make of the unfolding future. Half-human, Half-abstract figures continue their creator’s line of questioning; What is the legacy of contradicting ideologies in education and culture? How can we reconcile a dangerously forgetful history? Who knows what are the right questions to ask?
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 138 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.
Gilbert states, “I believe in making work that unveils our human condition and also gestures toward the effort to understand cultural history and memory of being, time and place. 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 will be the artist’s second solo exhibition in Dallas. Gilbert’s first solo exhibition was in 2010 at Dallas Contemporary. His exhibition Warnings and Instructions was the inaugural exhibition in the museum’s Glass Street location.
150 MANUFACTURING STREET, SUITE 210 DALLAS, TEXAS 75207 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
+ 214 760 1155
ERINCLULEY.COM
Wrestle James Gilbert at Dallas Contemporary
November 8 & 9
The performance will present an unique opportunity for museum participants to physically engage with the artist in a museum setting, while igniting a conversation about the cultural dynamic between arts and sports.
Each challenge will be on a certified wrestling mat with a referee present. Participants must be +21 years old and weigh approximately 100-175 pounds. Male and female. No previous wrestling experience required. No shoes on the wrestling mat.
Share
The performance will present an unique opportunity for museum participants to physically engage with the artist in a museum setting, while igniting a conversation about the cultural dynamic between arts and sports.
Each challenge will be on a certified wrestling mat with a referee present. Participants must be +21 years old and weigh approximately 100-175 pounds. Male and female. No previous wrestling experience required. No shoes on the wrestling mat.