ART-PRESENTATION: David Poppie-Between Worlds

David Poppie uses exclusively recycled material in his work. Discarded objects, ranging from used tea bags and matchbook strikes to plastic cutlery and pencils are assimilated en masse to be used in his large-scale two and three-dimensional sculptures. He calls them “The discards of contemporary culture” and hopes that his work will drive one to reconsider the function and value of objects that are used once and then throw away.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Pavel Zoubok Gallery Archive

In “Between Worlds”, his fourth solo exhibition at Pavel Zoubok Gallery in New York David Poppie presents new works, whose signature constructions of cut colored pencils and record LP covers reveal the inherent physical dynamism and pictorial range of his chosen materials. David Poppie’s vibrant, abstract compositions of hand-sanded colored pencils evoke the energy of painting while simultaneously engaging meticulous sculptural process. In the pencil construction “I am Here” (2016), opposing hues of green and purple radiate from a horizon line of vibrant yellows and orange. Although working within a prescribed palette, subtle hints of blue, pink, red and white emerge from beneath this densely layered composition, revealing unexpected nuances. Poppie’s continued exploration of the disposable nature of contemporary culture is evident in his series of collaged album covers that serve as a reminder of the velocity of technological obsolescence. At the core of Poppie’s new work is the search for identity, turning from musical inspirations to literary ones. He draws from the writings of Haruki Murakami and Paul Bowles, whose protagonists in the novels 1Q84 and The Sheltering Sky, respectively, search in vain for personal identity. The radial nature of Poppie’s collages and constructions obliquely refers to the passage of time while signifying the characters’ personal journeys of self-discovery, wandering in circles and out into infinity. In the back gallery is on presentation a concurrent exhibition of the Installation “Cojones”, by the Conceptual artist and Assembler of thrown-away fragments, Barton Lidicé Beneš. “Cojones”, is composed from homogenous objects including pencil erasers, skewers, rope, corks, crayons and plastic toy soldiers further explores the use of single-material accumulation in a series of dense spherical forms.

Info: Pavel Zoubok Gallery, 531 West 26th Street, New York, Duration: 30/6-5/8/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 11:00-18:00, http://pavelzoubok.com