8
Nov/11

MATT BOLLINGER: ABOUT MIDNIGHT SATURDAY

8
Nov/11

Matt Bollinger, “about midnight Saturday,” paper, graphite, digital audio, chipboard, speakers, mp3 player, 2010-2011 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Zürcher Studio
33 Bleecker St. at Mott St.
Tuesday-Saturday through November 11, free, 12 noon – 6:00 pm
212-777-0790
www.galeriezurcher.com
www.mattbollinger.com

Providence-based artist Matt Bollinger’s second New York City solo show consists of graphite drawings and flashe and acrylic collages that capture a moment in time, mostly dealing with childhood, depicting mysterious narratives that lure you in with thoughts of what might have just happened and what might occur next. In “Locker Room,” a blond boy wearing only socks and underwear gazes directly at the viewer, his growing body and burgeoning sexuality tense with fear and vulnerability. In “Water Fountain,” a young student is seen in close-up as he leans over to take a drink of water, as if it might be his only escape from the bigger boys standing ominously around him. In “Ditch,” a crushed beer can and stray cigarette butts lie on the ground outside, perhaps left there by the bare-chested boy holding out a can of beer in “Brian.” And in “Fence,” lights are on in houses behind a foreground chain-link gate that serves as a barrier between worlds — child and adult? Rich and poor? Artist and viewer? Fantasy and reality? Meanwhile, the collage aspect of many of the works evoke dreams or memories that are at first just out of reach, only coming together as individual parts slowly emerge. The centerpiece of the exhibit is the extraordinary graphite triptych “about midnight Saturday,” a heavily detailed drawing of three cars parked on a residential street, one car door swung open, with no people present but a sense of overwhelming doom pervading the scene. Nearby on the gallery floor is an old-fashioned speaker and an ancient eight-track-tape player with headphones on which visitors can hear Bollinger’s father, Skip, describe a terrifying evening in Kansas City in 1970 in which he was on a double date and was suddenly being followed by another car for no apparent reason; Skip ended up being stabbed and taken to the hospital, his life at risk. The audio and the visual combine to tell a powerful story, one that, if it had turned out differently, would have resulted in the artist’s never having been born. Originally scheduled to run September 12 through October 30, Bollinger’s show has been extended through November 11, and with good reason.