Ironed Out at the Bowie State University Galleries

Iron Paintings No. 5 by Damon Arhos

Ironed Out | Bowie State University Galleries
December 13, 2017 – February 17, 2018 in Bowie, Maryland
Artist’s Talk: 4pm on Tuesday, February 13

As I often tell my Art History students at Bowie State University, “Everything is a remix!” — deriving the quote from the 2010 video series by Kirby Ferguson. Artists often appropriate and combine existing ideas to form something new. In this spirit, I created this series of “Iron Paintings” as aggregates of several longstanding artistic explorations — including Marcel Duchamp’s readymades, the examination of gender roles, and the long legacy of abstract expressionism.

When combined, these ideas (and these artworks) introduce many new questions given our presence at this moment in history. What assumptions does a viewer overlay upon the irons — objects that I used as tools for painting, but that have their own context within contemporary culture? Are they simply appliances, or do they have inherent value as artworks? And, given the process for creating the works, are the results simply replications of a bygone era or a conceptual product that surpasses self-expression? These questions emerged as I created the works — and, I intend for them to inspire conversation and thought regarding the ambiguity of conviction.

Bowie State University Galleries, 14000 Jericho Park Road, Bowie, Maryland 20715
bowiestate.edu