FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE James Surls: Complete Fragments April 7 – May 16, 2006

In his first exhibition at the Charles Cowles Gallery, JameS SURLS will present new sculptures and works on paper. Blending forms created of wood, steel, bronze and graphite on paper, embodying the inherent dualities of the natural world and complexities made accessible through a clean simplicity of line and form. All of the works seem to be directed to the deeply personal. In Complete Fragments, SURLS continues to embrace both the organic and the abstract, melding them seamlessly through a balance of logic and intuition. The work seems to stream from the unconsciousness, acting as a guide to awaken the viewer through raw instincts toward a better understanding of the human condition. Present and of great importance in each of the works is the female energy innate within the world. While most sculptors make drawings as studies for their large three-dimensional works, SURLS’ drawings are conceived as stand alone works. There are five new drawings in this exhibition that trace the arc of personal transformation through liberation from regulations and a seizing of the imagination. Susie Kalil, in a forth-coming book has said that these drawings “are very complex works, full of life references and fiercely psychological. People don’t give the time to difficult works; especially those which approach issues of mortality and transcendence, these drawings map the territory of the soul and don’t offer a simple moral compass for relationships and our foothold on this earth. These drawings are ahead of the curve, but if given the time will offer the spectator an entry through the molecular structure, showing the bones and body of this art”. SURLS' work has been shown throughout the United States and Europe in over 50 important solo exhibitions and in 200 group shows. His work is included in the collections of the Centro Cultural Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City, The Dallas Museum of Art, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the High Museum in Atlanta, the Los Angeles County Museum, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Seattle Art Museum, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and many others. The exhibition will be on view at the Charles Cowles Gallery, 537 West 24^th Street, between 10^th and 11^th Avenues in Chelsea. Hours are 10am to 6pm, Tuesday through Saturday. There will be a reception for the artist on Friday, April 7, from 6-8pm. For further information or photographs, please contact the gallery. Above image: Five, 2006, steel, cherrywood, pine, 84 x 83 x 20 ½”