lumber room, Portland
October 10 – November 22, 2014
Following Polly Apfelbaum and Tony Feher’s subsequent solo presentations at the lumber room, both artists have returned to the space for a final collaborative project. For this new exhibition, the artists have continued their ongoing dialogue with one another by creating equally immersive environments.
Tony Feher’s site-determined window installation will remain on view from his recent exhibition over the summer. Using torn pieces of blue painters tape applied directly to the window, Feher laboriously covered all three windows in the space with an intricate motif of geometric patters that are reminiscent of antique stained glass. The gradation of light filtering through the windows further transforms the environment through its changing light. Also on view are several three-dimensional sculptures, including a stacked jar piece and a push pin work that wraps itself around the room.
Polly Apfelbaum has designed a mural-styled wallpaper inspired by the 1692 hand-made book,  Every Color Under the Sun. Written by a Dutch artist named A. Boogert and spanning over 700 pages, the book is the artist’s attempt to document every color in the spectrum and was intended to be used as an educational color guide for aspiring artists. Apfelbaum’s composes her wallpaper of digital images pulled from the book’s online archive but interrupts the symmetry and rhythm of its imagery by imposing a hand-drawn black line over the work. Apfelbaum additionally has self-publish a modified companion version of the original book.
On the occasion of this exhibition, a discussion was held on October 8th between the artists and Dan Cameron, Chief Curator of the Orange County Museum of Art. Dan Cameron has been a long-time supporter of both Apfelbaum and Feher over the years and has featured their work in many exhibitions.