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Selective Serotonin Reuptake
Inhibitor,
2008, Urethane
Resin and Foam, Clear Polystyrene Sheet, Iridescent Resin |
Dave Bondi : The Preservation of Decay
7th June – 10th July
Opening Reception: 7th June, 6-8 pm
Santa Monica, CA – Tarryn Teresa Gallery is pleased to present the debut solo exhibition of Los Angeles-based artist Dave Bondi. Always eye-catching, Bondi’s vivid three-dimensional paintings serve as a clever candy-colored branding trick. Their seductive appearance is actually a disguise for the artist’s passionate position on human behavior/philosophies and their resulting effect on our planet. Although the works are undeniably entertaining in that ubiquitous and alluring pop culture manner, Bondi’s work is a far cry from pure formalistic pursuit. Although he believes that art is meant to be enjoyed, he also believes in its power as an instrument for bettering human consciousness. Much like the controversial artist Joseph Beuys - a subscriber to the utopian belief in the power of universal human creativity - Bondi turns to art as a healing force and an outlet for political change. Bondi is a champion of pragmatism and egalitarianism. For the artist, his work is an appeal towards rational thought and an appreciation of the scientific process, as opposed to the violent confrontation between ideas fueled by religion and politics.
The centerpiece in The Preservation of Decay is a magnificent curled palm branch that hangs from the ceiling and drips shiny urethane resin and foam. The rich, glossy, turquoise and teal colored droplets create the illusion of a puddle of wet paint oozing out over the gallery floor. Surrounding this sculpture are several large scale three-dimensional paintings which have titles named after major scientific discoveries made in the last decade. Through the work, Bondi asserts his belief in science and rational thought as the answer to our current woes. Furthermore, his use of organic materials such as palm fronds and feathers points to a desire to preserve the very things that we are quickly destroying as a result of overpopulation and environmental issues such as global warming. “The resins I use will not decay and therefore insulate the organic material in my work from the natural bacteriological breakdown it would face if left to the elements. The art is ironically a manifestation of my desire to sample, manipulate and slow this natural process of decay – an effort which will inevitably fail.” At the same time, it must be noted that Bondi’s work also contributes to the consumption of plastic products – the fact of which he is well aware. He reminds us, “The origin of petroleum is rooted in the decay of massive amounts of dead organic material from millions of years ago. The dried plants used in my work are meant to symbolize this fundamental material, destined to dissolve into the earth and given the right combination of preservation and tectonic force, become resurrected as coal, oil and natural gas.” These products are then used to produce the petroleum based compounds with which Bondi creates his art. On a fundamental level, the resins and foams are simply an altered form of the palm frond itself. Everything from material to process are carefully considered by the artist.
Bondi’s process and choice of materials are integral to the conceptual and formal nature of his work. His work can only be produced through very precise chemical reactions and environmental conditions. Each piece is essentially a frozen moment in time, a preservation of a moment and a comment on its ultimate decay. The scientific process and the desire to preserve natural resources are literally manifested in the work. An integral part of his process is trying different methods and materials. This is partially due to the unstable nature of his media, but also through a natural desire for experimentation. Inevitably, each piece becomes a balance between controlled gesture and the surrender to the conditions and materials. There are multiple layers to each piece. The working time is very short, sometimes with less than a few minutes to complete an action. When the chemical reaction stops, the material is left frozen in its final state and becomes the foundation for the next layer. They are undoubtedly action paintings and as a result, obvious formalist comparisons must be drawn with Jackson Pollock and Abstract Expressionism. Bondi sites resin and foam pioneer Linda Benglis as a great inspiration, along with science-inspired Matthew Ritchie and pop culture phenomenon, Takashi Murakami.
In Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, 2008, we see swirling gestures of blue, red and white lines ripple and bend out from the surface, while curved masses of expanded purple foam rise up through each layer. Transparent resins embedded with metallic or interference powders are suspended while they themselves support tiny delicate lines of color which dance on the surface. Bondi states, “The final goal is to create a new kind of 3-dimensional compositional tension that challenges the viewer to decipher how it was built. For me it is a kind of alchemy; an affirmation of my belief that art is a process and not a physical object.” Much like other works in the series, in Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, we see the work take on the physical characteristics of its title. In this piece there are two layers of activity separated by one symbolically porous membrane. This layer of polystyrene sheet functions much like an SSRI does in the brain. Our brains are always generating serotonin and then re-absorbing it into our bodies through a membrane, where it is metabolized into 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor is a comment on this notable scientific discovery which is now the most widely used method for treating depression. Although it may seem far-fetched, there is even talk of engineering more serotonin and dopamine into humans on a genetic level to create more empathy in our species. This is something which intrigues Bondi on the level of bettering mass consciousness and increasing non-violent resolution of conflict. The Preservation of Decay is a body of work that questions the notion of decay on a multitude of levels. It ranges from a commentary on decay in the natural world, to decay in society and humans, to the use of decay to measure time through carbon dating and even the use of the term “decay” on a sub-atomic level in quantum physics. Most of all, Bondi’s work is a reminder that through the enjoyment and appreciation of art, we can hopefully encourage people to engage in discussions and initiate positive change in our world.
About the artist
Dave Bondi received his BFA in Industrial Design and Sculpture from the University of Michigan. He has over fifteen years of experience working as an artist and animator for such notable entertainment companies as Mattel, Activision, Electronic Arts and the television comedy “South Park”. Over the past few years, he has been involved with the designer/art toy movement as a sculptor for cult favorite Kid Robot in collaboration with Joe Ledbetter and Luke Chueh. His first vinyl toy "akashi" is nearly complete. He also serves as an adjunct professor of art at Cal State University, Dominguez Hills. Bondi lives and works in Venice, CA.
About the Gallery
Tarryn Teresa Gallery is a contemporary gallery committed to showing conceptually driven work. We represent both local and international contemporary artists working in all mediums. Our focus is on artists whose statement is in conscious alignment with their process - most importantly, those that challenge and intrigue the viewer on both conceptual and visual levels. Bergamot Station is the largest art gallery complex and cultural center in Southern California. Tarryn Teresa Gallery is located on the south end of the complex, near the Santa Monica Museum of Art. The gallery is open 11am to 5pm Tuesday through Friday, 11am to 4pm on Saturday, and by appointment. Admission and parking are free.
For more information please contact Claressinka Anderson.
Albatross, 2008
The venerable Albatross appears to be ingesting quite a bit of plastic during its long sea journeys. They have been found with all sorts of colorful, delicious-looking trinkets clogging the intestines and causing ultimate death.
Albatross, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Bird Feathers
24 x 50 x 8 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Albatross_01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Albatross_01_small.jpg
Anaplastic Glioblastoma Grade 4, 2007
When my friend Eric was diagnosed with this predatory, merciless form of cancer, my ER doctor friend was worse than pessimistic – saying the chances were as good as zero. Later, when I asked him what the proper spelling of Eric’s tumor type was, he casually mentioned “Yeah, some of your art really looks a lot like that”.
Anaplastic Glioblastoma Grade 4, 2007
Urethane Resin and Foam, White Polystyrene Sheet
44 x 37 x 8 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Anaplastic Glioblastoma Grade 4_ 01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Anaplastic Glioblastoma Grade 4_ 01_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Anaplastic Glioblastoma Grade 4_ 02.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Anaplastic Glioblastoma Grade 4_ 02_small.jpg
Bose Einstein Condensate, 2008
This is a theoretical form of matter that has only been capable of being created in the last few years. It has spawned whole new branches of research. In 1999, Danish physicist Lene Vestergaard Hau led a team from Harvard University who succeeded in slowing a beam of light to about 17 meters per second and, in 2001, was able to momentarily stop a beam. She was able to achieve this by using a superfluid. Hau and her associates at Harvard University have since successfully transformed light into matter and back into light using Bose-Einstein condensates.
Bose Einstein Condensate, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Rubber Ball
48 x 38 x 10 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Bose Einstein Condensate 01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Bose Einstein Condensate 01_small.jpg
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, 2008
We believe that the universe started from a single point in space-time. Perhaps there is something much more cyclic taking place?
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Clear Polystyrene Sheet
44 x 56 x 22 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation_01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation_01_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation_02.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation_02_small.jpg
Hyoid, 2008
We may thank the Hyoid bone floating alone below our tongue for giving us the ability to make very complex vocal sounds. In our closest primate relative, the chimpanzee, the hyoid bone is not as developed and therefore does not allow the chimp the same vocal sound range. Language theory is very complex, but many scientists draw a connection between the beginning of the current extinction event 40 million years ago and the mass migration of language-capable humans out of Africa.
Hyoid, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Palm Skin
28 x 24 x 12 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Hyoid_01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Hyoid_01_small.jpg
Large Hadron Collider, 2008
The fastest particle accelerator ever. It is scheduled to come online in the next year. It will primarily be looking for the “Higgs Boson” – an elusive particle that may contain the secrets of the universe.
Large Hadron Collider, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Palm Skin, Tree Branch, Wire Mesh
24 x 50 x 8 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Large Hadron Collider_01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Large Hadron Collider_02.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Large Hadron Collider_02_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Large Hadron Collider_03.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Large Hadron Collider_03_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Large Hadron Collider_04.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Large Hadron Collider_04_small.jpg
Model for a New Arcology, 2008
I believe we need to build an arcology within the next ten years. It will take 100,000 people and immediately move them off the environmental impact grid. The arcology will create a paradigm shift in the relationship between the individual and the urban environment space. The arcology will be made up entirely of material that can be reconstituted and grown into new architectural environments. It will be completely self-sustaining, with an egalitarian code of group ownership in the living structure.
Model for a New Arcology, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Palm Skin, Tree Branch, Glass
80 x 24 x 36 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a New Arcology_01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a New Arcology_01_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a New Arcology_02.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a New Arcology_02_small.jpg
Model for a Tethered City, 2008
Maybe someday we will live in floating cities with a small lifeline drawing energy into the sky to be used and recycled back in a state of environmental equilibrium. Maybe we will watch from the clouds as the earth heals itself.
Model for a Tethered City, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Palm Skin, Tree Branch, String
Dimensions Variable
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a Tethered City_01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a Tethered City_01_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a Tethered City_02.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a Tethered City_02_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a Tethered City_03.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Model for a Tethered City_03_small.jpg
Optical Dipole Trap, 2008
The Optical Dipole trap is an array of lasers vibrating at the exact same frequency in x and y space. When super-cooled atoms are blown into the array, a third laser with a slightly slower frequency is introduced along the z axis, and then tuned to become closer and closer to the frequency of the first two axes. Scientists have been using optical Dipole traps to capture Bose-Einstein condensates and try to observe the quantum behavior of atoms.
Optical Dipole Trap, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Palm Skin, Clear Polystyrene
24 x 66 x 10 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Optical Dipole Trap_01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Optical Dipole Trap_01_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Optical Dipole Trap_02.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Optical Dipole Trap_02_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Optical Dipole Trap_03.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Optical Dipole Trap_03_small.jpg
Popol Vuh, 2008
The Mayan creation myth. 2012. My new Y2K. Total pandemonium, ultimate revelation, or just plain stupid?
Popol Vuh, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Glow-in-the-dark Resin, Fiberglass
38 x 64 x 11 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Popol Vuh_02.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Popol Vuh_02_small.jpg
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, 2008
A drug which can make me feel happy when I wouldn’t normally be is always suspect in my judgement. Why is clinical depression such an epidemic? Why does no one see this as a symptom of something that is broken?
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Clear Polystyrene Sheet
52 x 38 x 10 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor_01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor_01_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor_02.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor_02_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor_03.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor_03_small.jpg
Superflat, 2008
Takashi Murakami is all the rage and I’m ambivalent, because I can’t help feel that some of the most amazing curves and lines can only be made with the assistance of nature. More flat than Murakami. I can’t find the thinnest line in this work.
Superflat, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Clear Polystyrene Sheet
48 x 46 x 10 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Superflat 01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Superflat 01_small.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Superflat 02.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Superflat 02_small.jpg
Tonka Truck IED, 2008
What a Tonka Truck would look like if hit by a IED (Improvised Explosive Device). This work is for all the soldiers who should be back home playing Tonka Truck with their child.
Tonka Truck IED, 2008
Urethane Resin and Foam, Clear Polystyrene Sheet
18 x 20 x 8 Inches
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Tonka Truck IED_01.jpg
http://www.davebondi.com/pics/Bondi_Tonka Truck IED_01_small.jpg
The Preservation of Decay
Statement of Rationale by Dave Bondi
Tarryn Teresa Gallery
Tarryn Soderberg, Director
Claressinka Anderson, Curator
Apr. 09, 2008
One of the great problems with art and it seems, life in general, is that there never seems to be enough time. Our existence is temporary and fragile, our bodies and minds deteriorate and fade. I feel as if I am always on the verge of death – a quantum state of simultaneous being and non-being. This uncertainty challenges me at every moment to create more meaningful artwork and yet, I can not help but feel an ever-increasing sense of desperation.
The Preservation of Decay is my first solo show and intended to be a grand commentary on nothing less than the nature of our current reality – political, economic, intellectual, scientific and metaphysical. I believe the egalitarianism of Rousseau’s Enlightenment has been completely replaced by a modern day global feudal society replete with new religion (capitalism), new mercenary armies and new Inquisition. I believe that the life system of our planet (of which humans are exceptionally involved and conscious of) is in grave danger of catastrophic collapse. Science – defined as the non-violent exploration and debate over physical phenomena – stands today as Galileo stood facing the Inquisition; indeed, on February 15, 1990, in a speech delivered at the Sapienza University of Rome, Cardinal Ratzinger cited some current views on the Galileo affair as forming what he called "a symptomatic case that permits us to see how deep the self-doubt of the modern age, of science and technology goes today." The Cardinal quoted philosopher Paul Feyerabend, “The Church at the time of Galileo kept much more closely to reason than did Galileo himself, and she took into consideration the ethical and social consequences of Galileo's teaching too. Her verdict against Galileo was rational and just and the revision of this verdict can be justified only on the grounds of what is politically opportune.” The Cardinal did not clearly indicate whether he agreed or disagreed with Feyerabend's assertions. He did, however, say "It would be foolish to construct an impulsive apologetic on the basis of such views".
Over the past ten years the large, powerful social/economic spheres (U.S., China, Russia, India, etc.) have been waging a war of mis-information against the alarms that scientists are sounding about the massive over-population and over-waste of our planet. Are we to believe that the “ethical and social consequences” of today’s scientific knowledge justify the International systematic obfuscation of facts such as peak oil, massive species extinction (biodiversity collapse), fresh water and topsoil scarcity, and to a lesser extent, global warming?
Cardinal Ratzinger is today Pope Benedict XVI, and his radical characterization of what is “politically opportune” bears a close resemblance to the philosophies of feudalism in so many other anti-secular movements. The invocation and “normalization” of tribalism, religious intolerance, racism and competition serves to polarize human beings against one another in a time of increasing scarcity and accelerated waste of natural resources and human work energy. The product of work energy and natural resources has become the “consumable” – an object to be used once (or less) and discarded somewhere where it will not be noticed (the landfill, the air, the ocean). Economic expediency at any cost. How will we end up paying?
Plastic, petroleum, fossil fuel, organic molecules formed by millions of years of evolution and shaped ultimately into bright, shiny artwork. The resins I use will not decay and therefore, insulate the organic material of trees and bark in my work from the natural bacteriological breakdown it would face if left to the elements. I use the palm skin to symbolize the fantastic natural organic process of life. The art is ironically a manifestation of my desire to sample, manipulate and slow this process of natural decay – an effort which will inevitably fail. I fear my work will someday end up floating in the North Pacific Gyre, where a garbage dump of plastic debris the size of Texas slowly swirls, gathering ever more detritus to itself.
Many of the works in this show have been made in reference to some of the more astonishing scientific discoveries to be made in recent years. These discoveries can save us if we listen and learn. I hope that science and art will prevail.