Cruces Creatives Presents:

May Art Ramble First Friday Featuring:

Henry Hartig

And Nothing Was the Same

Opening reception: Friday May 3rd, 5-8:30 PM

Show will run from May 3- June 3

205 East Lohman 

Artist Statement:

And Nothing Was the Same reflects on our content-saturated and goal-oriented culture by contrasting moments of transition and in-between spaces. My work has reflected on the question of where the self is created, i.e. the notion of being self-made versus that of a product of one’s environment using the body as focal point of this relationship. By extension, the work of this show presents materials that make up the modular systems of urban surroundings including sheetrock, wood, and concrete. It is a reflection on moments of change in life utilizing the material systems that constitute the urban living quarters, which will most certainly always be the same. Meditating on the objects of in-between is a calming practice of appreciating movement and change that, except by poetry, defies definition.

Artist Bio:

Henry Hartig was born in Los Angeles and has lived and worked in Las Cruces for seven years, recently earning a BFA from NMSU. Henry sites the LA landscape of wealth disparity and image saturation, and having been raised by two generations of would-be actors, as a primary artistic influence. In addition to exhibiting sculpture around Las Cruces, he has participated in multiple theatrical productions, films, and community organizing. The materials themselves often consist of found object and a foregrounding of rudimentary, otherwise unnoticed, structural materials such as drywall, wood, and concrete. In this way, Henry views his art, both literally and figuratively, as scaffolding that supports social interchange.