Adam Fowler

Utilizing a cunning ability to compose marks in both two-dimensional and low relief space, paired with a zen-like concentration abilities and a steady hand. Adam Fowler frees the mark from the page with the help of a sickly sharp blade. 

Working with paper, Fowler produces complex geometry, intently constructed sculptural compositions that transform into three dimensional rigid constructions. Fowler uses an X-Acto knife to cut precisely all the negative space from each piece, creating a refined paper lace of graphite lines. By looping these lines he transforms them into organic drawings. Fawler’s works could be described as “sculptural drawing” that shows subtle intricacy and graceful depth.

FOWLER HAS A FETISH for lines. He is less enthusiastic about paper. The New York-based artist draws spiraling abstractions-think of more orderly Cy Twomby curlicues-in graphite and charcoal, ten meticulously excises the white space around the marks.

New York artist Adam Fowler's work at Brian Gross brings that of Cy Twombly (1928- 2011) to mind and, like some of Twombly's work, it will surely provoke responses of the my-kid-could-do-that variety. But only from people not paying proper attention.

On Thursday, May 10th I had the privilege of attending an amazing paper exhibition at the Christopher Henry Gallery entitled A Cut Above: 12 Paper Masters. This group exhibition, curated by Diana Ewer, is celebrating the renaissance of cut paper as an artistic medium where 12 international artists have been featured, each working in their in particular expertise whether it be a carefully sliced book or an intricately cut piece of paper...

(Click image or download pdf for full article.)

From the papyrus rolls of ancient Egypt to the first sheets of tree pulp manufactured in 19th-century Europe and beyond, paper has been central to the evolution of knowledge, art and commerce. It’s almost impossible to imagine life without it.

Is paper passé? Your answer will most likely depend on whether you’re reading this sentence on newsprint or on a screen. But it’s safe to say that artists and designers aren’t ready to quit the stuff, at least by the measure of the latest show at the Museum of Arts and Design.

You could spend a summer's day getting lost in these 33 dense abstractions, gathered from a score of artists. David Ambrose pin-pricks his paper to create delicately textured surfaces over which he paints vibrant, fluid forms; Adam Fowler draws sinuous lines on paper, excises the negative spaces with a knife, and then layers various sheets into overlapping webs.

With a master surgeon’s touch, Fowler knifes out all the negative space around the thin, swooping arcs of his abstract pencil drawings and then combines three or more layers to achieve a fractured surface crisscrossed with the shadows cast by the tiny webs of paper. The silvery energy of these works echoes Pollock’s airy vitality, but their laborious construction results in a quieter, more mediated beauty.

As usual with the Drawing Center's twice-a-year exhibitions for emerging artists, this one stretches drawing almost beyond recognition. It includes traditional works like finely rendered, close views of woven fabric by Stefanie Victor and smooth, much enlarged drawings of human navels by Susan D'Amato. But a large cocoonlike structure by Monika Grzymala made of four miles of paper tape wrapped around three columns in the gallery could be taken by an innocent viewer for sculpture.