GAYLETTER

32-year-old Canadian artist Zachari Logan is back in NYC with two art shows: one is a group show, Passages, that he curated and the other is a solo exhibition of his drawings titled Metamorphosis. I caught up with the artist via Facebook chat to talk about them, how modern right?

How did this group show ‘Passages’ come about? Daniel Cooney (the owner of the gallery) invited me to curate a project, along with a smaller solo exhibition in the second space. Daniel Cooney Fine Art recently moved to a slightly expanded exhibition space. I developed the theme for an exhibition with a focus on artists whose work makes reference to literature. This is a tendency in my own work that I wanted to explore further in the work of others… it was great I was able to select artists whose work I really admire and have an affinity for!

Why is it called Passages? Most of the work I chose for the show has a visual component relating to nature or landscape, a sort of secondary theme… but primarily these works explore allusions to literature, so I was thinking a “Passage” from a book, but also a literal passage.

How did you choose the group of artists for Passages? Basically its artists I admire, or felt I wanted to work with… whose visual sensibilities I have an intellectual connection with. The work and styles of each artist is quite varied, but as the work has been coming into the gallery (much of it I have only seen through images) there is a strange visual melding that is happening, so its very interesting, and exciting!

Logan installing paintings by Ross Bleckner, and a long narrow sculpture by Gina Dawson.

Now About your solo show Metamorphosis…

Why Metamorphosis? That is a direct reference to Kafka‘s novel of the same name. in which Gregor Samsa wakes up in bed as a giant beetle. In part a contemplation of Kafka’s novel, the show explores transformation of self as a spectacle of the acceptance of one’s otherness. I’ve been working alot recently with imagery of flora and fauna and these drawings also reference the dynamics of altruism and the individual as described in the writings of Richard Dawkins… so this show too takes literature as a jumping point.

Why are all the drawings in this exhibition done in blue pencil on mylar? There is one large work in pastel, but the blue pencil works have a sort of magical feeling to them… I use imagery that is naturalistic or based on biological anatomical studies, and transform or mutate them, so the monchromatic colour makes them otherworldly… the image for the invite “Swarm” is the only anatomically naturalistic drawing in this suite of blue drawings, the rest I describe as collage-esque, if that makes sense…

“The Selfish Genes” from Metamorphosis.

How long have you been working on this exhibition? Thematically I have been doing work related to this show for the past few years, since my show at DCFA in back in 2011… but again, I work to the line, so I was completing some of these drawings while on my residency in the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna just last month…

Zachari installing ‘Metamorphosis.’

Both exhibitions run from March 7 – April 27, 2013 at Daniel Cooney Fine Art,

508 – 526 West 26th St. #9C, NY, NY. 

Gallery One: Passages, a group exhibition curated by Zachari Logan.

Gallery Two: Zachari Logan, Metamorphosis, a solo exhibition of drawings.