SOUTHFIRST 60 N6th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211 www.southfirst.org

SOUTHFIRST: PRESENTS

WINTER INDOORS
7 January – 13 February, 2005
OPENING RECEPTION:  FRIDAY, 7 January 7–9 PM

SOUTHFIRST gallery is proud to present a two-person show, WINTER INDOORS, featuring watercolor, drawing and soft sculpture by REBECCA BIRD and ELLEN TAKATA. Named for an artist’s book by Takata about the adventures of a sock cat and an ex samurai in a house in New England in the wintertime, the show is on view from January 7 – February 13, 2005.

Ellen Takata’s soft sculpture figures are small creatures conjured from scraps of fabric taken from the artist’s own closet. Her Scholar’s Rocks refer to the Chinese meditation tool and status symbol of the literari; other sculptures resemble animals (“Octopus on Rock,” “Fox,” Spiderbaby”) or human-ish figures (“Aristocrat,” “Topknot,” “Ghost”). They might be the population of a child’s winter toy chest, or a collection of imaginary companions made real. A series of eight companion watercolors evoke natural scenes and creatures. The exhibition seems to invoke a family of slight, somewhat ephemeral beings. Takata studied painting at Harvard, and completed a post-graduate diploma at Goldsmith’s College in London. She lives and works in Cambridge, MA.

Rebecca Bird renders her subjects with virtuoso technique and detail, imbuing ordinary things with an almost uncannily and luminous precision. She studied traditional Japanese watercolor painting, and paints on paper and board. Her studies tend towards slightly odd still lives composed of small, gently morbid objects: Nests, feathers, fish bones, small found toys and costume jewelry, and a number of dead birds and fading flowers. Bird’s compositions transcend their most obvious meanings—in “Jellyfish/Rabbit,” a fish head and a handful of pearls evoke other, living forms. Bird studied Fine Art at The Cooper Union, and received a Fulbright to study watercolor painting in Kanazawa, Japan. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

SOUTHFIRST is located on 60 N6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Gallery hours: Fri, Sat & Sun 1-6 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.

S O U T H F I R S T
60 N6th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211
phone/fax 718 599 4884
www.southfirst.org