GARETH SPOR
THE EDGE OF FOREVER
MARCH 20 -
APRIL 19, 2009
Opening Reception: Friday, March 20th, 6-9pm
NOMA Gallery is pleased to present Gareth Spor's new exhibition, "The Edge of Forever"
The show will include sculptures that are interactive or activated by light and accompanying videos. Spor's work is inspired by the sense of wonder experienced during the contemplation of a larger order within the universe. While many find contemplating the larger universe to be bewildering, it can also be thought of as a uniquely human experience that breathes life to concepts and forms that would go otherwise unrealized in the parallel universe that is our minds.
In his practice Gareth addresses the internal states one experiences when teetering on the edge of numinous finds. Given his background as a neuroscientist, Spor's preoccupations turn towards the physical implications and manifestation of optical perception. For this show he takes as a point of departure a concern with the filtering of light through vision, taking cues from film as well as systems that enable light to become information.
In works such as "Illuminating/Illuminated", a sculpture made from fluorescent lights, viewers literally have stars put in their eyes. The accompanying video faces a group of similarly starry-eyed participants, speaking to their beliefs of larger patterns present in the universe. "Unfolding I and II", use the template of delicate Moorish lattice panels to illustrate the many ways we have experienced patterns of light throughout history. "Mirror Universe" takes the work of one of Spor's major influences, Carl Sagan, and gives it an altered existence through mirroring and reflection.
Gareth Spor received his MFA from the California College of the Arts, a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley and a BA in Neuroscience from Hampshire College. His recent exhibitions include Paper Exhibition at Artists Space, New York, Human Resources at The Company, Los Angeles, and an upcoming group exhibition later this year in New York. He lives and works in San Francisco.