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For immediate release
Gentleman's Game:
May 14 - May 24, 2015
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 14, 6-9pm
Damien A Roman Fine Art and One Art
Space are pleased to announce the opening
of Fantastic Planet, an exhibition of recent
work by Gentleman's Game, a collaboration
of artists Brandon Friend and Jason Douglas
Griffin.
Fantastic Planet will open Thursday, May 14
with a reception for the artists at One Art
Space located at 23 Warren St. in TriBeCa.
Inspired by 1973's influential, French, sci-fi
classic of the same title, Fantastic Planet
The Child, 2014
explores many of the same conflicts and
Imprinted acrylic and mixed media on canvas
weighty allegorical themes at the heart of
36 x 54 inches (91.44 x 137.16 cm)
René Laloux's groundbreaking animated
film. A turbulent, drowned and unforgiving
world, perhaps centuries into our own dystopian future, is inhabited by Godlike giants, bizarre creatures
from the depths and the scattered remnants of humanity.
In this striking and brutal world imagined by Gentleman's Game, mankind struggles to hold on to the last
vestiges of terrain, both manmade and natural. Man's tenacious survival instinct and ingenuity give rise
to incredible, towering cities built upon the skeletons of long decaying oil rigs and the very few
mountaintops able to break the surface of the great, never-ending ocean. The constant struggle for
resources and land lead to a proliferation of fantastical modes of transport. Alchemists, utilizing
technologies and magics both old and new, create vessels to fill the sea and air, allowing their clans to
fight and maybe survive as new Gods watch over their subjects with cool disregard. Among the chaos
and despair, the artists still manage to create images of hope. Glimmers of this world's fragile beauty
can be spotted throughout the relentless turmoil.
Friend and Griffin, collectively working as Gentleman's Game since 2011, have explored the themes of
mythology, technology, history and mortality viewed through the murky waters of the Atlantic, the vast
ocean that covers nearly the entire surface of their Fantastic Planet. This seminal exhibition of the
young, New York artists collaborative work boasts the most complete selection of paintings from their
Atlantic storyline displayed to date. In this show, Gentleman's Game will debut a new collection of
previously unexhibited works titled Landlords, their latest addition to this epic saga.
Their partnership is considered unique, but it is their signature technique for bridging the gap between
the digital and the handmade that is unlike any other. Both artists work together to create works by
combining mixed media in a process that employs various methodologies rooted in painting,
printmaking, collage, drawing and image transfer. Images, textures and handmade marks are often
scanned, printed and then transferred to the canvas or paper surface using a fixative. The transfer
process is facilitated through the application and removal of numerous layers of paper medium allowing
different effects begin to develop and variations are created within the moment. Though technology is
integral to their process, it is ultimately the artist's hand that is responsible for the final creative
decisions.
Brandon Friend was born in 1980 in Queens, New York, Jason Douglas Griffin was born in 1981 in the DC
Metro area. Both were enrolled in the Department of Art Honors Program at the University of Maryland
College Park when they first met in 2001. After receiving his undergraduate degree, Friend returned to
Queens to complete his MFA at CUNY Queens College, Griffin moved to New York City to pursue his art
career.
Friend and Griffin later reconnected in New York in 2008 and began sharing the same studio space in
Long Island City that they continue to use today. Their first joint effort was for an exhibition at Lambert
Fine Art located in New York's Lower East Side, in 2011. The exhibit tiled, Identity crisis, provided the
impetus to create work as a pair, propelling the artists to create an entire wall of collaborations. The
name Gentleman's Game came from a painting that the two created depicting two figures engaged a
game of a chess, which served as a metaphor for their creative process.
Gentleman's Game has hundreds of works in private collections around the US and their work has been
exhibited in numerous galleries and art fairs including Scope Basel, Texas Contemporary, Project Gallery,
LA, Vered Gallery, East Hampton, Scope NY and Fountain Art Fair in New York and Chicago. This is
Gentleman's Game's first solo exhibition with Damien A Roman Fine Art and their first collaboration with
One Art Space.
Damien Roman is an Art Consultant, Curator and Project Coordinator specializing in Contemporary and
Modern Art exhibitions and sales for over 18 years. He is based in New York City and East Hampton, NY.
One Art Space, founded by owner Dan Giella in 2011, collaborates with curators, performers and artists
from around the world to create a diverse and exciting program of visual and performing arts projects.
Fantastic Planet is the first of a series of planned exhibitions partnering Roman and One Art Space.
For all press inquiries, contact
Damien A Roman
917 797 8931
[email protected]