03.15 — 04.18.15
Cody Tumblin
Tell Tale
March 15 – April 18, 2015
When it is difficult to form a sentence, it’s best to start with a few words and throw them together. The syllables are hung in rows and an occasional story takes place. There is a song from a room that hums distantly. Paintings being peeled away, leaving behind a strange choreography of stains and smudges. The dancing brush, the restless mind. Stray threads being pulled off the floorboards and out of my hair.
Loosely chronicling time spent in his home studio, Tell Tale is a collection of new dyed and painted works by Cody Tumblin. The pieces in his first solo show with the gallery dance between painting and object; most are made to the exact dimensions of significant books from his personal library. Each painting reflects a collective history of multiple works, many of them uneasy missteps. For instance, a painting or drawing is made, then stretched over another unfinished work. After further developments on the surface, the painting is peeled away, revealing the history of previous events that seep through each layer of cloth — the process is repeated several times, back and forth. The bleeds and stains of dye and watercolor remain from several different paintings, tracing movements of his brush and the evidence of each action. The anxious rhythm of the studio fluctuates between moments of excited urgency and long, quiet periods of uncertainty. Each work is a reflection of these cycles, weaving together a strange narrative of time spent.
Cody Tumblin is from Nashville, Tennessee and currently lives and works in Chicago. He received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Recent exhibitions include PRTY PPL curated by Josh Reames at Circuit 12 in Dallas and Forlorn Luck, a solo show at Lunchmoney Gallery in Aarhus, Denmark. In Chicago, Cody recently participated in SHIT IS REAL at devening projects + editions, a solo show with The Salon Series, and Pile Hunk Stage with Kayl Parker at Gallery X. This summer, Cody is anticipating two-person shows at The Packing Plant in Nashville, Tennessee, and at LVL3 in Chicago.
codytumblin.com
