NY Studio Gallery is pleased to present Burning Words by Laura Kimpton, in collaboration with Jeff Schomberg. This traveling installation achieves multiple artistic, social and personal goals set out by the artist. The focal point of the New York exhibit is a 10 foot tall steel tree built by Mr. Schomberg that serves as an anchor to Ms. Kimpton’s assemblages of found objects, burnt books, paint, encaustic wax and installation devices. In a reversal of the historical stigma of burning books, Ms. Kimpton’s work and actions stem from a belief in the need for human balance where all our senses – not just verbal – need to be awakened and in tune to our bodies.

Referencing Robert Rauschenberg’s combines or Joseph Cornell’s assemblages, Ms. Kimpton’s multi-media works incorporate a wide variety of materials to embody her message. Burning Words transforms as it travels to the now famous Burning Man Festival in Black Rock, Nevada in late August, where Ms. Kimpton and her team have designed a large scale steel and fire “Celtic Forest”, complete with moat and cauldron, where actual ritualistic burning events by the artist, team members and willing participants serve to purge participants of unnecessary and harmful self-criticism. The artist releases the following statement regarding her experience and intentions:

“End of words… one day I woke UP and was aware of a running commentary in my head, explaining every event in my life like an announcer for a gymnastics event. This Voice of Words made comments on everything I did. It would even tell me to put my pants on in the morning. This Voice of Words would also give me a score for everything – conversations I had, how I dressed, talked, sang, fucked, ate, felt. It was tiring, almost exhausting. Beginning with the Burning Words installation at NY Studio Gallery, I will be creating an art-ritual of the same name at Burning Man 2007. By burning the Voice of Words, I will allow all the other Voices to speak. It will make room for the Voice of Sight, the Voice of Smell, the Voice of Touch, the Voice of Intuition, and the Voice of Nature.”

The singular tree in the New York exhibit, itself a potent symbol of human potential, along with three other trees in the Burning Man piece, will travel on to San Francisco California. Ultimately the work will support the Forest Ethics organization as one tree will be auctioned off in support of old growth forests.