NICK GENTRY | COLLECTIVE MEMORY | A solo exhibition of new works

Opening its doors in February 2011 in Miami’s Wynwood Art District, the Robert Fontaine Gallery offers a unique selection of internationally established and emerging artists, centered around genres of Pop Art, Urban/Street Art , and contemporary photography. The Robert Fontaine Gallery, in its mission to provide viewers with an engaging, vibrant contemporary program throughout the year, is... [read more]

Opening its doors in February 2011 in Miami’s Wynwood Art District, the Robert Fontaine Gallery offers a unique selection of internationally established and emerging artists, centered around genres of Pop Art, Urban/Street Art , and contemporary photography. The Robert Fontaine Gallery, in its mission to provide viewers with an engaging, vibrant contemporary program throughout the year, is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in the US of British artist Nick Gentry.

London artist Nick Gentry, who was born around the same time that the floppy disk became ubiquitous for personal use, the 3.5-inch pieces of plastic are symbolic of the harsh world of obsolescence.

The Central Saint Martins graduate paints sombre, Generation X portraits on canvases made from floppy disks, whose metal hub serves as the subject's startlingly dilated eye. Adding to his haunting renderings are the handwritten labels on the disks and the way the disks' original blue, black, or gray color contributes to the composite form.

Floppy disks are in that inevitable process of obsolescence and are already considered to be an artifact of the recent past. These objects are no longer relied upon, but by momentarily placing them in the spotlight, it becomes easier to comprehend the speed and extent of the technological changes that are taking place today.

Whilst being so prevalent, each disk also has the possibility to be completely unique, containing everything from games to important documents, pictures and more. The handwritten labels on each disk provides a clue as to what might lie beneath in a preserved and dormant state. These digital fossils represent the passing age of physical media.

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