Turf One’s Pathetic Theater November 3, 2007

Turf One’s Pathetic Theater
Paintings by Turf One
November 3 through December 8, 2007
Fuse Gallery, 93 2nd Ave (between 5th & 6th Sts, 2nd Ave stop on the F), NYC, NY
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 3rd, 7 to 10 pm
Fuse Gallery presents Turf One’s Pathetic Theater by emerging artist Turf One in his first solo exhibition in the U.S.. Turf’s American debut will depict a circus sideshow-esque universe inhabited by odd, surreal and moody characters. It is a place where the line between life and death becomes blurred under the indifferent ever-seeing eye of God.
Turf is somewhat obsessed with Victorian-looking midgets sporting dandy facial hair, Russian icons, dead things of all sorts, carnival sideshows and seedy vermin-infested theatre stages. Technically, his paintings are reminiscent of the 15th century Flemish Primitives.
Turf (Jean Labourdette, as his mom still likes to call him) has forged a unique artistic vision and signature aesthetic over years of compulsive creation. In the late eighties he began his journey on the streets of Paris as a graffiti artist renowned for his distinctive and surreal characters. Over the years, Jean evolved into a prolific and sought-after multidisciplinary artist working as an illustrator, comic artist, filmmaker and painter. Today, he spends most of his time painting in a messy studio that Francis Bacon would have been proud of, sipping on espressos and beer and talking to himself.
His paintings have been exhibited internationally in galleries in Paris, New York, San Francisco, Miami, Rome, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. He has created art for clients such as Kanye West, Sony Music, Universal Music, the Canada Council for the Arts, Pound magazine and Le Cirque du Soleil.
“Turf One’s Pathetic Theater,” paintings by Turf One, runs November 3 through December 8, 2007 at Fuse Gallery, 93 2nd Ave (between 5th & 6th Sts, 2nd Ave stop on the F), NYC, NY. The opening reception, on Saturday, November 3rd, from 7 to 10 pm, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Fuse Gallery at 212.777.7988 or [email protected].

Official Website: http://www.fusegallerynyc.com