Poughkeepsie, NY – September 25, 2008.  G.A.S. Gallery and Performance Space presents “Unnatural History,” an exhibition of sculptural installations, drawings and photographs by Accord artist Michael Asbill.  Best known for his site-specific public artworks that deal primarily with the historical landscape, Asbill was eager to make some work for the gallery.  “The gallery is by definition a blank space - a space without context.  I’ve been so wrapped up in public contextual work that I was really excited to make some art designed to stand on its own.”

 

The title, “Unnatural History,” is a clear play on the term “Natural History” associated with science museums and the scholarly endeavors that are their business.  The installations in the show are inspired by the dioramas and wildlife tableaus that we see in museums.  But Asbill’s constructions are a little twisted, psychological, and thoughtfully awkward.  In his own words, “my dioramas are bit stranger, pieced together with homemade artifacts.”

 

“There’s all kinds of crazy stuff in the show,” says Asbill, “deer skeletons, sleeping bags, a kiddie pool, and even a rowboat that I shot 6,000 times with a .22 caliber rifle.”   Despite the use of unconventional materials, Asbill states unequivocally that he is not trying to make art that is hard to understand.  “I’m using very familiar stuff, with what I think are clear connotations.  I’m combining these things and playing with meaning.  I hope people will play along with me.”

 

The drawings and photographs in the show range from sketches that helped to develop the installation work to stand-alone artworks that thematically reflect and deepen the show’s contents.  An example of the latter, the drawing “Dead Panfish” monumentalizes a very humble little creature, turning it into a trophy of sorts.  The modest subject is rendered on a large scale with meticulous, almost scientific detail.  “In part, I was inspired by old Dutch still-life oil paintings of fish which celebrated the bounty of nature.  This drawing is of a Black Crappie, my Grandfather’s favorite fish to catch and eat.”