Second Thursday at NextFab for Fellow Adam Atkinson’s Communing: Objects of Impermanence

Second Thursday at NextFab for Fellow Adam Atkinson’s Communing: Objects of Impermanence | NextFab 1800 North American Street | Thurs. May 9, 2024 | 6:00 pm EST | In-person Event

Walk-ups Welcome

Stop by NextFab for the Second Thursday and catch the last weeks of the 2024 Winter Residency Fellow Adam Atkinson’s exhibition Communing: Objects of Impermanence, a series of objects utilizing salvaged materials in the spirit of the program’s mission of sustainability. The residency is designed for artists in Greater Philadelphia who work in the medium of wood and is a collaboration between the Museum for Art in Wood and NextFab. Communing: Objects of Impermanence is on view at the NextFab North Philadelphia location and will be closing on May 20th. Don’t miss the last public opportunity to see Atkinson’s Objects of Impermanence.

Portrait of Adam Atkinson by Myles Pettengill @myles_standis

Adam Atkinson (he/they) is a Philadelphia-based metalsmith, curator, and educator. They received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Studio Practices from Boise State University in 2013 and a Master of Fine Arts in Metal Design from East Carolina University in 2019. Atkinson’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, Blowing Rock Museum of Art and History in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and Nagoya Zokei University in Japan.

Atkinson uses a variety of techniques and materials to explore different narratives in their artistic practice. In their The Orifice Series, they explored the link between the body and nature using metal and wood juxtapositions. Each piece draws upon organic, bodily imagery and fur textures overlaid on carved cherry wood; all carefully handcrafted using repousse, an ancient technique of forming sheet metal, woodcarving, and burning. Atkinson also interrogated the role traditional Ancient Roman busts played as historical markers for powerful figures in his Wood Bust Series. With these works, they questioned the legacies of the figures who have been memorialized through busts, what marks a great achievement in our society, and the role the form and function play in visualizing social structures.