VERTEX AT INFINITY

MARK FELL

April 12 – May 11, 2014

Reception Thursday, 10 April 6-8 PM

SOUTHFIRST is proud to present Vertex at Infinity, the first American solo exhibition of multidisciplinary British artist Mark Fell. Fell presents a series of six visual works, Convolution and Resynthesis, 2014, which function as a visual counterpart to a multichannel sound work that constructs relationships between synthetic sound and found sound. The show is on view from April 12 - May 11, 2014.

The 4-channel sound installation, I Refuse to be Complicit in Your Pathology, 2014, uses additive sound synthesis, composite kick drum (Roland TR707 and TR808), and found vocals to construct a vertical plane of sound which viewers can walk through and around. The sounds draw from Fell's strong interest in New York House Music circa 1992-93, the sonology of which forms the elements of the installation. Works like "No More Mind Games (Waste No Time Mix)," on Nervous Records, or even Chez Damier's "Can You Feel It (New York Dub)," released on Detroit-based KMS, are indicative of the structure of House Music's tonal vocabulary. Taking its cues from such works, Vertex at Infinity becomes a reflection on the sound of House Music—its typical constituent elements and its utopian social promise.

The gallery will hold an opening reception for the artist on Thursday, April 10 from 6-8 pm. Fell will perform at Issue Project Room on April 11. Southfirst gratefully acknowledges Genelec, a generous sponsor of the exhibition, and thanks the studios of CCRMA, Stanford, where the sound for Vertex at Infinity was recorded.

Mark Fell is a multidisciplinary artist based in Sheffield (UK). Having studied experimental film and video art at Sheffield City Polytechnic (1992), he is known for his work in music and synthetic sound. Fell's work is in the collection of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (Vienna), and he has performed at Artists Space, Issue Project Room, the Corcoran Gallery (DC), ZKM (Karlsruhe), and the MACBA (Barcelona), with upcoming performances at the Serpentine Gallery (London), and the ICA (London). In 2013 he had a solo exhibition at the BALTIC 39 Center for Contemporary Art, Newcastle (UK). In addition to his creative practice Fell has been involved in a number of academic research projects ranging from computer science to musicology, and as a curator Fell was a pioneer in the presentation of independent electronic and computer music in Europe.

SOUTHFIRST, founded in 2000, is located at 60 N6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn between Wythe and Kent Avenues. Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from 12 - 6 PM and by appointment. Subway: L train to Bedford Avenue. For more information, please contact Maika Pollack at 718 599 4884 or info@southfirst.org.