Twisted Logic

R. Justin Stewart makes sense out of o-rings.

Comments (0) By Susan Froyd Thursday, Jul 23 2009

Ivar Zeile of Plus Gallery first observed R. Justin Stewart in action in 2007 at the Plus intern gallery, Object + Thought, where the invited artist impressed Zeile with his ability to work quickly and brilliantly, despite time limitations and a lack of familiarity with the site. Now Stewart has returned to do a solo installation titled Systems of Knowing in similarly unfamiliar territory: the brand-new Plus venue at 2501 Larimer Street. And whatever is unveiled at tonight’s opening reception — which doubles as a celebration of the gallery’s eight-year anniversary — is certain to be fascinating.

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“He uses ordinary plastic o-rings to make these extremely complex forms,” Zeile explains. “This plays into his prior sensibilities of utilizing a material component in a creative way, which usually involves demarking a zone in the gallery space with tape or paint on the walls and using drawings that interact with those components to relate to the intellectual process of what installation is actually about.

“You have to see the work to really understand what makes it so exciting — to see how complex it is, yet how it also has an underlying simplicity,” Zeile adds. “There’s so much art out there in world, but I think he’s doing something completely unique.”

The reception runs from 6 to 9 p.m.; Systems of Knowing continues through August 28. Go to www.plusgallery.com or call 303-296-0927.
July 24-Aug. 28, 2009