"Soundings" by Brian Dowling at Yellow Peril

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Sept. 21, 2015 - PRLog -- Yellow Peril Gallery is pleased to announce "Soundings", Providence artist Brian Dowling’s first solo exhibition, featuring marble sculptures and two-dimensional works measuring the depth between perception and reality. Dowling’s work looks at the power of liquid in the form of ink to subvert the seemingly impenetrable nature of stone. There is a balance of the brute and the subtle. His two-dimensional works explore how these ideas and dynamics change with a shift in material, while being given a similar handling and consideration.

"Soundings" refer to a method of measuring depth in the ocean – a fragment or small window of understanding into something much bigger.  Upon closer examination, the block-like forms have qualities similar to three-dimensional paintings, but the ink has traveled into the stone.

“We are only able to see how ink has infiltrated the stone on its surfaces,” explains Dowling.  “Carving is very minimal.  At times, almost nonexistent.”  He describes the surface tension as “a push and pull between the more rendered shapes and the blocks.”

Carving shapes and then breaking part of them away and leaving the jagged surface is a labor-intensive process akin to “an act of rebellion against the preciousness of the object.”  Dowling stresses:  “The pieces are almost kept in check from becoming too fetishized, too perfect despite the time it has gone into creating them.”

The opening reception for "Soundings" is Friday, October 23, from 6PM – 9PM. The exhibition will be on display until Saturday, November 14, 2015. This is Brian Dowling’s first solo exhibition at Yellow Peril Gallery.

About Brian Dowling
BRIAN DOWLING is an artist living and working in Providence, Rhode Island.  He received his BFA in Sculpture from Maryland Institute, College of Art.  In addition to stone sculpture, Dowling is an experienced metal worker.  He has produced custom furniture for clients throughout New England, interiors for stores and sculptural signage.  Dowling also builds large scale public sculpture for other artists that are installed across the country.  He is a member of the Iron Guild and has participated in many performance iron pours, including Mac Steel in Rutland, Vermont, for Japanese Television.  For more info about Brian Dowling, visit www.briandowlingart.com.