Todd Baldwin: Memento Mori
October 22 - December 4, 2016
Opening Reception: Friday, November 4, 6 - 10 pm

[Images]

Philadelphia, PA - Tiger Strikes Asteroid is proud to present Memento Mori, a solo exhibition by artist and TSA PHL Co-Director, Todd Baldwin.

For this show, Todd Baldwin finds inspiration in several of Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes early 19th century etching series, notably Disasters of War, Los Caprichos, and Los Disparates. These dark and pessimistic works reflect a wide variety of themes including insanity, mental asylums, witches, fantastical creatures, and religious and political corruption. Baldwin sees similarities between Goya’s works and contemporary graphic novels, and responds to these parallels by stripping out elements from both, collaging them together, and reinterpreting them into a three-dimensional construction. Taking a cue from the cells of the comic book page, Baldwin reconfigures the gallery space, allowing the viewer to wander through it in new ways. The exhibition also includes Baldwin’s first effort in producing a soundwork, a swerved and reconfigured version of Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 15—a piece in itself that penetrates an awkward hallway space, and amplifies the dark feeling found throughout the show.

Todd Baldwin was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1975. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts in 1997, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2010. Baldwin has exhibited sculpture and photography steadily since the early 1990′s, and joined Tiger Strikes Asteroid in 2013.