Works by Erin M. Riley and Joe Boruchow
In & Out showcases the work of two Philadelphia artists working in different mediums with crossover subject matters. Joe Boruchow’s black and white cutouts show the forms that arise from careful removal of shapes cut from paper. With the black shapes taken out, the images become clear to the viewer. The creation of Erin M. Riley’s tapestries, in a similar way, take shape as yarn weaves in and through the warp of a loom. The concentration to detail, and the choices of what to leave and what to remove or hide brings the powerful images to life within the works these two artists. 

Pre-order now for limited edition patches featuring work by the artists!

August 30th - October 12th

Opening Reception
Friday, August 30th • 6-10pm

The Philadelphia Collection Fabric Row Event
Thursday, September 19th • 5-9pm
www.thephiladelphiacollection.org

Fourth Fridays on Fourth Street Reception
Friday, September 27th • 6-10pm

Philadelphia Open Studio Tours East
Saturday, October 5th • 12-6pm
Sunday, October 6th • 12-6pm
www.philaopenstudios.org

Open Saturdays from 12-6pm

Open anytime outside of open hours by appointment. To make an appointment please email: info@paradigm-gallery.com or call: (267) 266-0073

www.erinmriley.com   •   www.joeboruchow.com   •   www.paradigm-gallery.com
 

Please email sara@paradigm-gallery.com to see a catalog of available works from the exhibition.

My black and white cutouts are an evolution from when I used stencils to make posters for my band, The Nite Lights. About ten years ago, as my technique improved, the stencils became too fragile to work with. I started to simply photocopy black paper cutouts and found that I was able to get much more coverage pasting and stapling these around town than I had with the stencils, all the while, retaining a fine art object.

My process varies with each paper cutout, but there are some things that remain consistent. From thumbnail sketches I develop more detailed studies that I then redraw on black paper paying special attention to the limits of the medium. In a paper cutout, all the black must connect (this makes things like belly buttons challenging). Then I excise all the white space with an Xacto blade, paint out the remaining pencil marks with black spray paint, and scan the cutout. From this I have large prints made, which I use for my large-scale installations.

The longer I have been doing uncommissioned public art the more I try to find architectural spaces to frame and add context to my work, ultimately, integrating it into the environment. In a gallery, however, one can to see the original cutouts from which the larger installations are made. Their intricacy and smaller scale often surprise people, giving them a new perspective on the public / private aspects of my work and emphasizing the blend of craft and concept that I attempt to achieve.

Artist Statement – Erin M. Riley 

Using traditional tapestry techniques, I weave images of young women in states of undress or exposure, personal objects and landscapes relating to destruction and death. My work is the culmination of research into addiction, sexual experimentation, popular internet culture, the effects of single parent households, socio-economic status’ etc.

I am drawn to the images taken for private exchanges that become littered on the internet. I am using my own images that I have sent to lovers as well as the objects that I have formed psychological attachments to, objects that have had impacts in other people’s lives, displays of arrests, deaths, addictions.

I am interested in the honesty of sexuality, but also how courtships, pornography and sex is changing as a result of the mass depiction of these intimate moments online. I am inspired by the beauty of a woman who takes a self portrait for her own pleasure and the pleasure of the ones she cares about, and all the people who get to glimpse into that moment and what is done with the power of that intimacy.

Exhibition Photos: