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Opening, Sat, Oct 19, 2013, 7pm, during ART PARTY
Steven L. Anderson is an interdisciplinary artist who uses his work to investigate belief systems held between unique communities of people and into those he personally holds. A recent Los Angeles transplant, Anderson’s exhibition is his first in Atlanta and represents a contextual shift in his practice from West Coast ideologies and spiritualist tendencies into a Southern focus.
A daily studio practice—making drawings, sculptures, videos, and graphic designs—anchors these exterior investigations and activities. In recent years, his production has focused on the flow of power and energy through elements of activism, harness and control; the combination of these physical, emotional, and spiritual forces asserts what the artist calls, a “palpable, tingling essence.”
comprises a two room installation where viewers can stand, sit, and recline to encounter the works. On the walls are recent drawings in which Anderson repeatedly writes words in a radiating spiral, hoping to lose himself in the tantric-like process and possibly to physically alter a condition in the world through his intense focus, labor, attention and intentions. Phrases and resultant titles such as , , and are obsessively written in various colors, sizes, and degrees of readability according to Anderson’s mental state at the time of making. On the floor, the large ornamental serves as a welcome mat and circular stage for gatherings of individuals and groups from the Metro Atlanta area that will take place throughout the duration of the exhibition. Around the gallery are variously adorned tripods that support video cameras/players offering imagery of humans’ encounters with the wilderness. In a separate area, Anderson constructs a low slung meditation lounge with plants, rugs, pillows, and a vintage spoken-word recording.
In the often overwhelming flow of everyday rhythms (work, family, politics, culture, technology), Anderson’s ideas and endeavors offer a chance to slow down, shift perspective, and as he says, “discover rhythms that have nothing to do with the nine-to-five.”
Images:
Steven L. Anderson, Energy Spiral—The Money Will Come (detail), 2013, Marker and pen on paper, Courtesy the artist
Steven L. Anderson, Energy Spiral—The Money Will Come, 2013, Marker and pen on paper, Courtesy the artist
Steven L. Anderson, Grow room (detail), 2013, Potted plants, rug, cushions, audio equipment, Courtesy the artist
Bio
Steven L. Anderson
Steven L. Anderson’s work is about the power of Nature, and the nature of power. His artistic practice attempts to view the systems of the natural world from the perspective of a plant or a tree—hoping to bring a whole new way of seeing the world, which can open up new ways of seeing our human systems.
Alone and collaboratively, and across several media, Anderson engages in projects that use this shaman-like empathy with nature to perceive, identify, and work with the energy flows that surround us. Many of these “energy strategies” are manifested in the studio, artworks which function as tools for activating energy in individuals and communities.
Anderson’s artistic goal is “to make images, things, spaces, and situations that fuse the exhilaration of the human spirit with the ferocious beauty of Nature to make a palpable, tingling essence.”
Anderson’s collaborations have included working as Ecstatic Energy Consultants Inc. with Tom McKenzie; publishing Cakewalk Magazine; projects with Atlanta artists Sandy Corley, Mark Leibert, and Craig Dongoski: and making things with many other amazing people.
Anderson is a 2015 Hambidge Fellow, and a 2014–15 Walthall Artist Fellow. His art has been seen in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Miami, and Chicago. Anderson is represented by {Poem 88} Gallery in Atlanta.
- Curated by Stuart Horodner