This is Gary Batty’s fourth one person exhibition with Feature Inc. since he began exhibiting with the gallery in 2000. He attended School of the Art Institute of Chicago for his BFA, Staatliche Hochschule fur Bildende Kunst, Frankfurt am Main, and received his MFA in painting in 1997 from Parsons School of Design, NY. Born in Utica NY in 1970, and a Brooklyner for many years, Gary Batty now lives in Malden MA.
Q&A 02.07.2011
.do you see there being a romance between the paper and the marks?
a romantic relationship is there. the color and texture of the piece of paper and the pencil marks always interplay, letting one another take the lead.
.how can you keep them looking so different from each other? is it like different subject matters?
that is part of it - they all start with a distinct source. also i think it comes about by having many pieces going at a time. i am conscious of the path that I was taking in one piece while deciding which path to pursue in the next.
.when you begin a work, is there already a look in mind?
the look of a piece tends to come later.
.what percentage of the drawings that you begin fail and get tossed?
recently, I would estimate my failure rate at around 66 percent.
.why not use ink?
graphite suits me.
.do you think of your drawings as being quiet or noisy?
something in between, like listening to a field recording done with a contact microphone.
.do you work in silence or have something playing in the background?
i do like to have something playing when i work, but staggered. when nothing is playing i find myself listening in much the same way.
.how do you perceive your production: organic or synthetic? methodical or emotional?
i am not sure i know what you mean, but i like the words synthetic emotion together.
.are these drawings, most of your drawing, humorous to you?
yes.
.eye and mind focus and loss seems to be a big consideration for maker and viewer— what about that?
i find it intriguing when eyes and mind need to work, rely on, trust each other to allow for an experience. loss just comes.