Art Atrium 48 is proud to present Presence, an evocative new exhibition by Fahn (James Gardiner) that explores unknowing and presence through a play with ambiguity and ‘the perspectival flip’. Two series, ‘Sentience’ floor drawings and ‘Presence’ digitally fabricated relief paintings, investigate our shifting perception in the digital age. Rooted in architectural abstraction, these works invite viewers to engage with multi-perspectival ambiguity.
The ‘Sentience’ series begins as gestural floor drawings, consciously created without intention. ‘Presence’ evolves these drawings through collaboration with a 3D digital cutting machine, compounding ‘perspectival flips’. This conscious engagement with ambiguity, blending digital and analogue techniques, aims to create moments of contemplation. Viewers are invited to recognize the unknowing in our shared human condition and connect with the present moment.
Exhibition: Presence, by Fahn (James Gardiner) 8 May – 31 May 2025 Art Atrium 48 Level 1/48 Alfred Street South, Milsons Point, NSW 2061
EXHIBITION OPENING: Exhibition Opening to be launched by: Katrina Cashman Gallery Manager of National Art School Thursday 8 May 2025 6:00 – 8:00 pm
EXHIBITION PANEL DISCUSSION Fahn (James Gardiner), Kon Gouriotis, Martin John Oldfield & Simon Chan Thursday 22 May 2025 6:00 – 8:00 pm
ARTIST PERFORMANCE Artist Performance by Fahn (James Gardiner), with live music by DJ Clare Neal Saturday 31 May 2025 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Catalogue by John McDonald on Fahn’s exhibition ‘Presence’ “There are few ways in which works of art today can escape classification and definition, but James Gardiner – who goes by the pseudonym, fahn – is blurring the boundaries. On the most fundamental level, Gardiner’s works are drawings, but they are also sculptures, paintings, and architectural models. It doesn’t require much imagination to see them as maps or diagrams.”
John McDonald
Fahn (James Gardiner), Presence Pr25-02 Acrylic polymer, tape on machine cut mixed media board (Plywood, timber, chipboard, MDF, polystyrene and acrylic resin) 182 x 151 x 5 cm $15,000
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Fahn (James Bruce Gardiner) 1973, is a Sydney based artist, with a strong focus in ambiguity, perception and digital fabrication. Formerly an award-winning Architect and inventor, his achievements include the world’s first 3D printed reef (2011-14) and the development of the FreeFAB 3D print Wax system (2012-2017) used for the Elizabeth line, London Underground project. James has been recognised with numerous awards, scholarships and press coverage – including National Geographic, New Scientist and the Economist.
Fahn (James Gardiner’s artist pseudonym) dedicated himself full time to his art practice in 2018, after many years of exploration, and he continues to engage with technologies in novel ways. Fahn completed an artist residency at UNSW Art & Design, where he pursued the design and fabrication of a large 3D printed ‘Shard’ sculpture for Sculpture by the Sea in 2018. He has since pioneered new methods of integrating digital machine cutting with traditional drawing and painting techniques within the postgraduate Master of Fine Arts program at the National Art School. In line with James former career as an inventor, James works across multiple mediums and materials, is constantly experimenting and pushing his work into new territory.
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