Oxygen
A Jimmy Edgar Solo Exhibition

Oxygen was the first solo exhibition by conceptual artist Jimmy Edgar. It continued his exploration of metaphysical (and literal) phases of matter, playing with immateriality in the digital domain.

The Oxygen series comprises 13 works that portray ideas as evaporated forms of physical creations, and consider how they might materialize into reality. Through a process the artist calls “digital condensation,” the imagination solidifies as literal objects.

Edgar creates conceptual sculptures from materials ranging from beach balls and epoxy to Dyson blow dryers and hand dryers, set against gradient backdrops that simulate air currents. The beach balls bring a playful quality to the work, portraying oxygen as an element and the bonding of molecules, and engage in conversation with Jeff Koons' Three Ball Equilibrium Tank. Dyson products recur throughout his work as symbols of new technology, consumerism, luxury, cleanliness, and how quickly consumer products become obsolete.

OXIDIZE, the centerpiece of the series, is a minimal, dematerialized work made of two vibrating frames, asking the viewer to consider breathing, energy, contrast, life, and death. EPOXY ONE and EPOXY TWO are inspired by ozone diagrams, alluding to air systems, HVAC, and atmospheres. Every gradient in the series moves upward, evoking evaporation and gaseous qualities.

To be oxidized is to undergo a reaction. Taken together, the works generate reactions in those who experience them, and reflect on how ideas, like natural processes, move from the abstract to the tangible.

About Jimmy Edgar

Jimmy Edgar makes conceptual art with saturated color, LEDs, inflatables, and sculpture that transcend initial appearance. His work blurs the boundaries between the immaterial and the hyper-material, and considers how hybridizing seemingly unconnected ideas can produce something new. He works without allegiance to a single medium. His crypto-native works include UNREAL (a single magenta pixel), YOU (an immaterial digital sculpture), and OBSOLETE (a hermetically sealed Dyson vacuum cleaner).

Edgar has collaborated with Lady Gaga, Vince Staples, SOPHIE, Charli XCX, Miguel, shl0ms, and Pilar Zeta.