Artist and sculptor Philip Naudé is a puzzle maker of the analog variety, though his medium isn’t tiny cardboard pieces. Rather Naudé is an archivist, archaeologist, and treasure collector. Stepping inside his residence is like walking into another world. There are neatly contained piles of artifacts throughout—books, playing cards, miniature chairs, stopwatches, and dice. The inventory is endless. Outside in his welding area, there is a heap of newly collected steel scraps that he has picked up from his usual Gowanus haunts: Bay Ridge Iron Works, Gabriel’s Iron Works, and A.J. Iron Work. Each day’s find is a discovery of fresh materials. With all of this stuff, Naudé quilts together the visual narratives of his artwork.

Much in little is the English translation to Multum in Parvo. It’s taken from the title of a book that Naudé received from a relative who worked with the author, Carl Zigrosser. “It’s very indicative of what I like,” he says. “Finding much in little, both in my artwork and the everyday experience.”

Multum in Parvo features three forms of Naudé’s work: paper collage, steel sculpture, and matchboxes. In these various manifestations, each piece is a series of items placed together to make a larger statement. The work is angular, architectural, fractured yet contained. “It has to begin from a place where everyone is playing well together,” he says. “I like the idea of taking these elements that don’t originate together and then forming a whole. That is the highest priority for me, that the elements are in balance.”

To view examples of Naudé’s work, please visit: www.philipnaude.com/art.htm.

The matchboxes are adorned with collages and part of a new program called the 01.01.10 Initiative, which offers an interactive component to the exhibition. At the show, there will be 333 matchboxes presented, each for sale for $10 that can be removed from the display upon purchase. The benefactor is then asked to replace the matchbox with a new one on which he or she has written their first name, or anything they like.

Just as Naudé’s work is diverse, so is the space that it will be housed in, which is conveniently located one block from his Gowanus studio. Fun Times proprietors, Jenn Penn and Keith Gladysz, like Naudé, don’t have just one focus. In addition to the gallery, they also run a dog walking service and front the electro-rock duo, Diet Kong. Of Multum in Parvo, Gladysz says, “Philip’s work is perfect for our space. There’s proximity—physical and aesthetic. I can’t discount the shared experience of living in the same time and place. And his multi-disciplinarian approach to making art is in sync with our own.”

About the artist: Philip Naudé is a Philadelphia native and a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College. When not pursuing his artwork, he has been a production manager for various theater companies in New York City—the Manhattan Theatre Club and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, to name a few. He serves as a producer for The 24 Hour Plays Company and most recently as director of production for their 9th Annual Celebrity Benefit for Urban Arts. For more information: www.philipnaude.com.

About the gallery: Fun Times is a DIY gallery and event space run by Jenn Penn and Keith Gladysz of the art-dance rock outfit, Diet Kong. It’s open for use to artists, filmmakers, musicians, dancers, and creative people for art shows, film screenings, and events. Fun Times is located in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn.