Leigh Davis: The Burrow (H.H.)

January 14th – Feb 8th, 2012
Opening Reception: January 14th, 7-9pm

Leigh Davis, detail from Foreclosed Storage Unit, 2009

“Now the truth of the matter – and one has no eye for that in times of great peril, and only by a great effort even in times when danger is threatening – is that in reality the burrow does provide a considerable degree of security, but by no means enough, for is one ever free from the anxieties inside it?” – Franz Kafka, The Burrow

Open Source Gallery is pleased to present The Burrow (H.H.), a new project from Brooklyn-based artist Leigh Davis. Working from photographs she took of an inhabited self-storage unit in New Mexico and using materials found in the surrounding neighborhood, Davis’s installation repurposes the gallery as a transitional living space, in which everyday artifacts of human existence take on different meaning when encountered in a place not designed for habitation. In constructing The Burrow (H.H.) specifically for the gallery, Davis engages her ongoing interest in creating projects in relation to the opportunities and constraints presented by the sites in which they are located.

The title of the project is taken from The Burrow, a Kafka story told from the perspective of a compulsive character who describes with pride the concealed burrow he has built to protect himself. As the character elaborates on the details, however, the description grows more paranoid and fantastical, and ultimately the narrator becomes trapped, possessed by his own creation. Davis’s project similarly creates a state of curiosity and uneasiness, in which viewers are invited–through the objects presented–to reconstruct for themselves the life lived by the person who is not there. But by restricting physical access to the space, the project relegates viewers to be voyeurs, from the outside, prompting them to consider their own relationship to the imagined life inside.

on view now

Opening Reception: May 5th, 2012, 7-9pm May 6th – June 3rd With Spring and Renewal, artist Patrick Cadenhead seeks to create a multi-sensory meditation on religion, laundry, and our denial of decay. Large sculptures caked in common cleaning products make up this installation, as active fountains push water and soap over and through, constantly changing [...]

upcoming

MS 136
Koko
eL Paper
riepl & co marianas trench discoveries inc
Nick Kline
Kathleen Vance
Michael Poetschko

past

Felipe Mujica: One day this will NOT be yours
BETWEEN MOUNTAIN
Between Mountain – part 2
Peter Feigenbaum
The Meeting
Karl Spörk, Another Meeting
Leigh Davis: The Burrow (H.H.)
Evan Robarts and James Moore: the cave
Sara Bouchard: The News: Monday-Friday, Parts 1 & 2
Open Source 2011
Open Source Soup Kitchen
Borderland Collective
Jason Reppert: Parlor Tricks
Felipe Mujica: One Day This Will All Be Yours
Green Idea Pool
James Leonard – 927 Days at Sea
Soap Box Derby
Naoe Suzuki and Dramahound Productions: Mi Tigre, My Lover
Associated
Raphaela Riepl: adorable steamed sea urchin
Allison Read Smith: Thugs
Open Source Gallery 2008-2010
Soup Kitchen 2010
Pirmin Hagen: First
Nobuko: wa
ORFI nyc: live gig 2010
Peter Feigenbaum “Trainset Ghetto: Streetsmart”
Images NYC
make Soap Box Racers for the Soap Box Derby
ONE BIG WINDMILL
Open Source Residency w/Austrian Artists
Patricia Watwood: Portraits 20/10
Cornucopias: Paintings by Rachel Youens
Ondrej Brody & Kristofer Paetau: Wang Bin Torture in Commercial Quality, High Quality and Museum Quality
Akiyuki Ina: Emitting Evanescent Beauty
John Coburn: Fairlane Marauder
Soup Kitchen 12.1 – 12.24
Sara Ching-Yu Sun: Nov 7th- Nov 30
Victoria Stanton and Christian Richer: Sat Oct 10th
Patrick May: October 3 – november 2