2018
Phill Niblock
Working Photos
November 25, 2019 – January 5, 2020
Fridman Gallery is honored to present a solo exhibition of the iconic composer, experimental filmmaker, and photographer Phill Niblock. Working Photos compiles still photography, video, and minimalist sound works created all over the world throughout his six-decade career.
The exhibition begins with Niblock’s film of Arthur Russell performing at Experimental Intermedia in 1985, and three series of photographs: China 88 (China, 1988), Boatyards (Brazil, 1974), and Streetcorners in the South Bronx (1979). In the main gallery space, the two-channel slide installation Light Patterns is juxtaposed with Anecdotes from Childhood, works created between 1985 and 1992. Downstairs, Niblock’s musical compositions score multiple series of photographs from the past five decades.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of free performances at Fridman Gallery:
November 26, 8:00pm
Films from Niblock’s Environments series: 100 Mile Radius and Ten Hundred Inch Radii
Music by Niblock performed by David Watson, Robert Poss, David First, James Moore
December 6, 8:00pm
An evening of Niblock’s films and Music by Others
Featuring Katherine Liberovskaya, Max Neuhaus, Sun Ra Arkestra, Arthur Russell, Rhodri Davies, William Hooker, and Tim Shaw
January 4, 2020, 8:00pm
An evening of live music and visuals by Phill Niblock, Al Margolis and Katherine Liberovskaya, and cello pieces composed by Niblock and performed live by David Gibson with Niblock's images
Harm (2003, 24:43)
Poure (2008, 23:28)
Feed Corn Ear (2012, 29:48)
January 5, 2020, 8:00pm
An evening of cello Pieces by Phill Niblock, performed live by David Gibson with images by Niblock from the gallery exhibition.
3 to 7 - 196 (December 1974, 23:40)
Descent Plus (March 1977, 22:30, revised 1992)
Summing Two (1981, 1985, 32 min)
January 4 & 5 will also feature NoizeBreeze (2014–19)
an installation by Katherine Liberovskaya and Phill Niblock with Barry Weisblat.
Niblock will also host a series of concerts throughout the month of December at his nearby historic Experimental Intermedia loft at 224 Centre Street. Finally, on December 21st, Niblock will stage his annual Winter Solstice marathon concert at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn.
Phill Niblock (b. 1933, Anderson, IN) is an intermedia artist working in photography, music and film. His focus on light gradients and grids, and minimalist drone compositions, are inspired by the artistic activities of New York in the 1960s. Niblock’s intermedia performances have been presented at numerous venues around the world, including the Tate Modern, The Museum of Modern Art, The Kitchen, The Institute of Contemporary Art (London), and World Music Institute at Merkin Hall. In 2013, his work was the subject of career retrospectives at the Circuit Contemporary Art Centre and the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland. Since 1985, Niblock has been the director of the Experimental Intermedia Foundation in New York, hosting over 1,000 performances to date. He is the recipient of the 2014 John Cage award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
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