Win McCarthy

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Presupposing your absence,/ like water, (The Long Drain 28-29), 2013, water, plasticene, steel and copper wire, steel bar.

And without notice, had changed so entirely/that I might even require/a new name to be called. (It occurred to me that... Lines 9-12), 2014, Glass, pipe fitting

It occurred to me that perhaps there wasn't/any poetry, as it were./That, up to this point, all prior...? (It occurred to me that... Lines 1-3), 2014, Glass, water, plaster, ceramic, poly-vinyl plastic

It's enough to/ make you beg for a wedge, some/ kind of shim, like a narrowing cone, (The Long Drain 38-40), 2013, plasticene, pipe fittings

As is always the case,/ you yourself (The Long Drain 19-20), 2013 Clay, glue, steel and copper wire, steel bar, plumbing joints, wooden shims, table.

As is always the case,/ you yourself, (The Long Drain 19-20), 2013, Clay, glue, steel and copper wire, steel bar, plumbing joints, wooden shims, table.

Some other times still, a desert,/ and times too a drain. (The Long Drain 24-25), 2013, Clay, steel and copper wire, glue, drain, mounting hardware.

You'll notice right away that it formed a bit like a puddle does,/ a kind of aggregation of material, both deliberate and incidental, (The Long Drain 12-13) 2013 Clay, glue, rag.

poem for exhibition "The Long Drain" at Off Vendome, Dusseldorf, DE

Installation view, "The Long Drain" at Off Vendome in Dusseldorf, DE

Limp Clay Lump, 2013, clay, plastic, tape, 13 x 20 x 6 inches

and numbness, like a felt distance. (Grant proposal line 14), 2014, glass, tissue

Have I/at last/occured to myself... (Having occured lines 4-6), 2014, resin, glass, wood, water, 2.5 x 18 x 63.5 in.

Having occurred/as yet... (Having occurred lines 1-2), 2014, inkjet print on acetate dimensions variable

In lives of Others, 2014, steel, plastic, glass, paper, 85 x 73.5 x 24.25 in.

In Lives of Others (detail), 2014, steel, plastic, glass, paper

In Lives of Others (detail), 2014, steel, plastic, glass, paper

Changes, Tears, 2014, Steel, glass, paper towel, 20 x 28 x 3.375 in.

That, up to this point, all prior (It occurred to me that... Line 3), 2014, Glass

Changes, 2014, Glass, pipe fittings, cardboard, tissue, 54 X 17 X 14 in.

What is my artwork about?

In lieu of providing any kind of explanatory text here, I’ll say that:

Poetry, quite naturally, creates a structure for meaning and resonance. The sculpture follows the writing, as the writing follows the sculpture. In my practice they are, for lack of a better expression, one and the same.

Artist Statement

Grant Proposal Poem

Looking through it, past it, sure,

all good.

But really, how to not point

towards imperceptible-ness

but to be in that state: to be, as often as possible

invisible.

…

Shit, to see the thing invisible.

That would be pretty good.

…and numbness, like a felt distance.

The scrim feels airless,

gagged; a barrier

Between intuition

—————————

And analytical seeing.

Your hands

and then back to it.

This time with your head.

Not forgetting that

to graze

is still to touch,

to glimpse still to see

like,

to whisper, even alone,

still to speak.

This may be a kind of mediated seeing,

a provoked cautiousness.

And while intending to be nothing,

Nothing it is not.

A thing, a number of things,

assembled as a sensation,

a resonance, of emptiness

or its opposite.

Having occurred,

as yet,

only in lives of others,

have I

at last

occurred to myself?

-Win McCarthy

August 7, 2014

Education

2008

B.A. Bard College

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2013

The Long Drain, Off Vendome, Düsseldorf, DE

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2014

Puddle, pothole, portal, SculptureCenter, Queens, NY (Forthcoming,

October)

Changing Table, Kate Werble Gallery, NYC

Honey That Isn’t Real: Rochelle Goldberg, Win McCarthy, Jared Madere,

Bed Stuy Love Affair, Brooklyn

Sweet Potato, STL Lux, Luxembourg City

That Singing Voice, Galeria Marta Cervera, Madrid

2013

The Turn-key of Forever-After, Bed-Stuy Love Affair, Brooklyn, NY

Rock art & the X-ray Style, Organized by Ryan Foerster, Brighton Beach, NY

Illuminations, Richard Telles Gallery, Los Angeles

Coconut Water, White Flag Projects, St. Louis

IT-THOU, Michael Thibault Gallery, Los Angeles

Lucas Knipscher, Win McCarthy, Sigmar Polke, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New

York

Maker Your Maker, Know More Games, Brooklyn, NY

2012

Le fond de l’air effraie, Camille Henrot Studio, Bienalle de Belleville, Paris

Some Facts about Manhattan, Martos Gallery, New York

Primotivo, Stefan Primo, Brooklyn, NY

Evil Freaks III, Dependent Fair, New York

2011

Showroom Booth, NADA Miami Beach, FL

Evil Freaks II, NADA Hudson, Hudson NY

Ryu is spinning around, 306 Bowery, NY NY

Lamps, Know More Games, Brooklyn, NY

Evil Freaks, Dependent Fair, New York

Neapolitan, Neapolitan, Cleopatra’s, Brooklyn, NY (2 person)

Publications & Selected Press

“Lucas Knipscher, Win McCarthy, Sigmar Polke” By Roberta Smith, NY Times,

2/21/13

“Lucas Knipscher, Win McCarthy, Sigmar Polke” Artforum.com Critics Pick, by

John Ganz 1/26/13

“Lucas Knipscher, Win McCarthy, Sigmar Polke” The New Yorker, 2/2/13

June, Forest Hills Literary Journal, 2012

Gutter, TV Books, 2009