TS+ Projects is pleased to present David Abir and Gordon Stevenson, two artists who explore happiness through minimalist light sculptures.

David Abir is a sculptor and composer whose work is known for its soothing and healing qualities. He carves a rectangular hole into white boxes made of wood or steal through which drones a unique collaged musical composition derived from Brahms, Mahler, Beethoven and Bach. The tune originates from a hidden iPod and speaker system within the piece, adding a sense of mystery. Diffused LED lights shine through the surface’s apertures accompanying the music. David’s installation sculpture, Tekrar Level Four, was described at PULSE Miami 2009 as Valium, serving as an antidote to stress, anxiety, and pain. Recently commissioned for a Lyme disease center in Connecticut and in a pre-op room of a children’s hospital, David believes in the power of inner strength to heal.

David’s process is deeply rooted in minimalism- all the work is behind the surface and the viewer is left with a clean and focused image, at once serene and mysterious- reflecting the experience he intends for the viewer to encounter.

On the opposite end of the spectrum – Gordon Stevenson’s catch phrase “stop bravely at the surface” provides an alternative to the spiritual aim of David’s practice. Gordon’s paintings are abstract color fields sculpted with subsequent pouring of bright neon paint in quasi-straight lines – his works attempt to annihilate the canvas by producing thick textured work where the color appears to float in the viewer’s world. The bold colors and surface frontally is an apt metaphor for city life. A born and raised New Yorker, Gordon embraces controlled chaos.

The same idea pulsates through his neon light sculptures – by layering simple geometric shapes to form representational objects such as knives, hearts, and lips, Gordon fashions sexually charged icons. He elevates the neon beer signs in dive bars to the level of fine art. Gordon requires you to stay on the surface by concealing the canvas with iridescent and reflective paint. His version of happiness embodies the famous quote by Oscar Wilde, “It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.”

David Abir is an Iranian-American sculptor born in 1969 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in 1991. For David, sculpture is a way of giving sound a physical, 3-dimensional presence. In addition to his own work, David has also collaborated with Doug Aitken, Alfredo Jaar, Shirin Neshat and Shazia Sikandir for music and sound installations at the 303 Gallery, MoMA, Barbara Gladstone Gallery and Galerie Lelong. David lives and works in New York.

Gordon Stevenson was born in New York City in 1984 and received his B.F.A. from Bard College in 2001. Gordon’s influences include the abstract paintings of Sigmar Polke and Sam Francis, the 1970 floor-pour paintings of Linda Bengalis and the work of his contemporary, David Reed. Gordon lives and works in New York.