The Bathers by John McEnroe
2009
Polyester resin, sand, nylon, and cable
Patrons: Darby Donohue and CultureHaus
John McEnroe has spent more than a decade experimenting with plastics. The Denver artist creates organic shapes from polyvinyl, fiberglass, polyester, acrylic, and latex.
One of the ideas of this exhibition is to address the building. And in this particular place we have lots of architectural, structural elements that are crossing. This building is rectilinear, it’s white, and it’s out of plumb. These objects are black, curvilinear, and plumb. They’re a very one-to-one contrast with this structure.
For Embrace!, McEnroe cast sand-filled forms with resin to create oblong shapes that hang from the ceiling on levels three and four of the Hamilton Building. The Bathers was executed with help from David and Bobbie McEnroe.
© John McEnroe. Photos by Jeff Wells.
Meet the Artist
Born in Independence, Missouri in 1968, John McEnroe grew up in Topeka, Kansas. He earned his BFA in 1989 from the University of Kansas, and in 1993 received his MFA from Ohio State University. While in graduate school at Ohio State he first experimented with theories and principles of conceptual art that continue to inform his work today.
McEnroe moved to Denver in 1995 and since then has exhibited locally and nationally, participating in group exhibitions such as Scene Colorado/Sin Colorado at the Denver Art Museum in 2004, Decades of Influence at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver in 2006, and also at Miami Art fairs. In 2006 McEnroe was featured in a solo show at The Laboratory of Arts and Ideas in Lakewood, Colorado. In 2005 and in 2007 he had solo shows at Plus Gallery in Denver. He has completed several public commissions throughout Denver and the state of Colorado—most recently, National Velvet, in 2008. McEnroe’s work is represented in public and private collections including the Topeka Public Library, Kansas, Kansas University in Lawrence, Ohio State University in Columbus, the City of Aurora, Colorado, the City and County of Denver, and the Denver Art Museum. He is represented by Robischon Gallery in Denver.
Photo of the artist by Marc Piscotty.
Recent Work
Capo Pelato, 2007. Plastic. Image courtesy of Plus Gallery, Denver.
National Velvet, 2008. Fiberglas and resin. Image courtesy of Plus Gallery, Denver.
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