Andy Harding | Cloud Witness — Tinney Contemporary

Andy Harding | Cloud Witness

November 25 - December 23, 2017
Opening Reception: December 2nd during First Saturday Art Crawl Downtown

Tinney Contemporary is pleased to present Cloud Witness, an exhibition of new works by Andy Harding. This body of work is deeply inspired by the history of matter around us. Dust, stone, water, and wood—every material we encounter—contains atoms with a story that extends back to the birth of time. The contents of everything from our solar system to our bodies has come from the far reaches of space and remade itself for a time before returning to the dust from which it came. Thus, the world we inhabit now is just one moment in a saga of material transformation.

In Cloud Witness, Harding grapples with the reality that matter in all its forms has had a previous life elsewhere. Indeed, scientists have theorized that all the constituent parts that make up the whole of the universe—and life as we know it—can be traced back to the primordial clouds of gas that emanated from the Big Bang. This work serves as a totem for the elemental structures that emerged from these cosmic clouds of dust and gas. The frenetic configurations of the wood sculptures hint at the elusive nature of the particles and energy contained within all matter.

The materials, form, and process behind the work echo this grand cycle of transformation. The compositions are made from materials with history, such as reclaimed wood and discarded acrylic. Though composed of hard-edged geometric elements, the wood and acrylic forms take on an organic, fluid nature when viewed as a whole. In addition, many of the sculptures are composed of a single, infinite loop—further embodying the concept that all matter is in a state of perpetual transition.

Andy Harding is a sculptor living and working in Nashville, TN. He developed a passion for art-making while pursuing a degree in chemistry at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. In the years following graduation, he worked in architectural metalwork and woodworking studios while engaging in an ongoing study of the scientific and philosophical subject matter that continues to inform his work. He had the honor of studying contemporary art in China with 12 other art professionals. His work has been exhibited nationally in Boston, San Diego, Chicago, and Louisville, and can be found in numerous private and corporate collections across the United States.