small measures near an artesian well

shedshows

Austin, TX

Exhibition Text:

An interlocking system of crossings and pockets—a negative impression of an aquiferous shape. Imagining a single thread weaving through this system forms a knot which cannot be untied. Through the cumulative effects of countless forces, water collects and disperses, moving through the system in a continual, mundane flux.

‘Small measures near an artesian well’ is an installation by Abby Flanagan that explores shared atmospheric conditions through a collection of large and small drawings made on and off paper. Central to this exhibition is a sand work composed of sediment and charcoal held in glass vessels, spanning the walls of ShedShows and functioning as a rain gauge. Her materials include the weather, and a shared atmospheric sequence emerges as the work responds to precipitation and evaporation over the exhibition's duration.

Included works:

rain score, 2024, sand in glass tubes, wood table, Dimensions: variable/site-specific

tract (shed textures), 2024, found shed material in polycarbonate tubes, Dimensions: variable/site-specific

small measures (1-7), 2019-2024, ink on paper, artist made frames Dimension: 6 x 5 in. unframed

artesian well (1-2), 2024, pencil and colored pencil on paper on board, Dimension: 44 x 30 1⁄4 in. (drawing only)