Nick Paparone: Accents for the Self-Made Man
For his first solo exhibition at Fleisher/Ollman, the New York-based artist Nick Paparone presents Accents for the Self-Made Man, the second iteration of an evolving work that anatomizes the "branding" of persona in the current American moment. Working with the systems of mass culture and marketplace, Paparone isolates various signs, objects, opportunities and attitudes in an exhibition that is complete with goods, marketing collateral and a series of PowerPoint presentations.
Accents for the Self-Made Man at Fleisher/Ollman will feature a new body of work consisting of highly designed domestic objects that speak to lifestyle, essence, mythology and fetish.
"The self-made man is at home in the world of things. He stands at its center and scans its shores for signs of the new (impeccably turned out, casually insouciant). He has no need for self-reflection. He knows exactly what he wants and usually gets it too. He radiates intuition, talent, commitment, and curiosity (with just the right degree of discretion). He is an instrument of change and a maker of meanings. Subtle threads connect him to the heart of the zeitgeist. He sets his own standards by always following his passions. His accessories are machines of desire."
—Media Farzin from Desire, the Machine: Accents for the Self-Made Man
Nick Paparone was born in Stuttgart, Germany. He has worked in advertising, been a guest on The Jerry Springer Show, and is the CEO of a company. In 2011, he received an MFA from Columbia University and was awarded the Socrates Sculpture Park Emerging Artist Fellowship. He has performed and exhibited his work at: Bonniers Konsthall, Sweden; X-Initiative, New York; Scaramouche Gallery, New York; Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York; Fisher Landau Center for Art, New York; Vox Populi, Philadelphia and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia.
Paparone's PowerPoint presentations will take place at the following times:
- Thursday, September 8 at 7pm
- Saturday, September 24 at 1pm
- Saturday, October 8 at 3pm
www.accentsfortheselfmademan.com
Dan Murphy: Certain Things
Dan Murphy is a self-taught Philadelphia artist whose poetic visual practice encompasses making, collecting, cataloguing and presenting. Certain Things will include found objects, along side a selection of photographs, collages and assemblages. The images and objects have in common one primary thing—that they meet the artist's idiosyncratic criteria for "perfection" and are on exhibition so that they will not be overlooked. Partially challenging the idea of ownership, Murphy often photographs or remakes desirable or distanced objects so that he is able to revisit and recontextualize them in a way that their creators or owners would never imagine.
Murphy works seamlessly between photography, collage, film, music, animation, collecting and publishing. Much of his work deals with iconic images and collectible objects, shrines and rituals, freedom, movement and the unsanctioned. In addition to Stuck on the Map and Public Wall Writing in Philadelphia, Murphy publishes Megawords with collaborator Anthony Smyrski, a free magazine that documents surroundings and experience. He travels widely to photograph, DJ, and meet new and creative people for collaboration. Murphy has shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Fleisher/Ollman, Philadelphia; Hamburger Eyes Photo Epicenter, San Francisco; Moore College of Art, Philadelphia; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; Printed Matter, New York and has upcoming exhibitions and projects at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.