David Adamo

BORN 1979 IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK
LIVES AND WORKS IN BERLIN, GERMANY

David Adamo’s installations often incorporate proplike objects and suggest performance acts and scenarios. Part of an untitled ongoing series, this installation comprises conventionally masculine tools—an ax, an arrow, and a knife—as well as a pair of scissors, lodged into the wall as if they were forcibly thrown in an act of violence. Utilitarian implements—canes—are hacked and whittled into fragile, useless spindles. Adamo pairs these emasculated objects with a deconstructed violin case and reconfigured wire hangers to create a spare, repetitive arrangement that speaks to both the aggression and simplicity of the objects. To offset the repetition, Adamo carefully adds pools of wood shavings around the objects in a self-conscious acknowledgment of his aesthetic process.

READ About the Artist

"The Nifty 50: David Adamo"
—T Magazine/The New York Times (January 2010)

"David Adomo"
—Art in America (October 2011)

"PERFORMA 2007: David Adamo and Gabrielle Giattino"
—Clocktower (Broadcast November 2007)

"David Adamo"
—Artforum (November 2009)