1. The rubbing of one object or surface against another.
2. Conflict, as between persons having dissimilar ideas or interests; clash.
3. Physics: A force that resists the relative motion or tendency to such motion of two bodies in contact.
Conceiving of and coordinating the Friction exhibition has been a long and wonderful journey. As co-owner of Anderson Studio & Gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I have wanted to compose a group show centered around a conceptual theme since our opening one year ago.
The idea for the theme of Friction came to me as I listened to separate conversations one week last year. I heard people speak of a social friction between those at odds with one another and subsequently listened to someone describe the friction that we typically associate with the study of physics. This double meaning is what initially lured me to the idea of friction as a theme.
The study of language and its origins has long interested me. I was astonished to find highly varied definitions of friction based on the dictionary that I consulted and was hard pressed to find a common set of definitions. Yet this only confirmed my choice.
I had been searching for a concept that was accessible yet had depth. One that people understood yet wanted to know more about or view in a different light. As we celebrate Anderson Studio & Gallery’s one year anniversary, we are pleased to welcome twelve new artists and infuse the gallery with a vibrant new body of work.
> THE WORK
As entries rolled in, I was delighted to see a dimension to the concept of friction that had not yet occurred to me. While most are accustomed to the idea of social friction, what many artists described and I saw immediately in their work was a kind of *self* friction. While we tend to think of oneself as a single entity, I realized through these entries that in reality our identities are made of up multiple parts.
An important element of each artist’s entry was to define how their work embodies one or more of the definitions of friction. The essays underlined this idea of self friction that was evident in the artists’ work. Casey Greenling speaks of the "struggle to find a sense of self". Daniel Petrov writes of his attempts to "open and close the wounds smarting in some of us". Beryl Markowitz portrays three figures seemingly engaged in battle yet we discover them to be one. Sarah Rockett tells of a friction between "what we know and what we want to believe."
In summary, Friction has evolved into a greater concept than I ever could have imagined. Through these twelve new artists for our gallery, we have realized the vision of a show united by a concept yet one that delves into new territory both artistically for the gallery and conceptually for this funny little word we call FRICTION.
- Kingsley Anderson
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