Press Release

Duel, a combat between two persons, a conflict between antagonistic ideas or forces. Consisting of dual parts, at the center lies an aggravation to be resolved by force. Antithetical to the notion of singularity, which can also refer to something peculiar standing out from the lineup of similar ideas matching alongside each other.

For his solo exhibition at Spore Space, Ian E. Newman has presented six new works completed between the years 2021-2023, three paintings and three sculptures in dialogue with constructed realities, group think, group action, and adversarial biases. Neon connects the paintings and sculptures, the attention commanding quality highlights the mindless activities of watching, buying, consuming, and losing in the traditional form of the Vegas delusion.

Each work contains a symbolic intention circling around the center pillar of two-sidedness urging the viewer to proceed with caution. Mimetic desire pervades the room as notions of reduced agency and polarization are represented as unidirectional woes, difficult to reverse. One sculpture stands out as a leading motif, a tower of upheaval coupled with liberation, its tarot symbology undergirding the body of work.

Born in Newton, Massachusetts; Newman attended Pratt Institute Brooklyn, New York graduating in 2002. An itinerant artist, Newman's work is informed by time spent in New York City, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Philadelphia harboring a unique signature integrated within his work. He currently lives and works in Ojai, California.

"Life lies within the in-between. The process and mystery of things are life in itself. Point of interest is merely information, whereas the undefined asks and evolves. Separate remaining benign. Unified revealing viability”.
Ian