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Like a Rebus Gratia's Decoy... 2010

Tony May
Like a Rebus Gratia's Decoy...
2010
Acrylic on panel
8 x 8 inches
TMp 2

Home Improvements 1978-81

Tony May
Home Improvements
1978-81
paintings in glass-fronted case
58 x 32 x 7 inches
TMp 7

Crate for 'Home Improvements' paintings c. 1980

Tony May
Crate for 'Home Improvements' paintings
c. 1980
Artist-made box
13 x 15 1/2 x 13 inches
TMp 11

Home Improvements (Redwood Deck) 1980

Tony May
Home Improvements (Redwood Deck)
1980
Acrylic on plywood
11 x 13 inches
TMp 10

Cat Whisker Brush  2015

Tony May
Cat Whisker Brush 
2015
Wood, glass, mirror, cat whiskers
22 x 12 x 2 inches
TMs 2

Second Class Reliquary (with Foot Lights) 2017

Tony May
Second Class Reliquary (with Foot Lights)
2017
Wood, glass, leather, fabric and electrical fittings in box
18 x 14 x 6 inches
TMs 6

The Unlikely Amalgamation of a Butter Churn, a Couch Leg and a Japanese Umbrella into a Variable 2017

Tony May
The Unlikely Amalgamation of a Butter Churn, a Couch Leg and a Japanese Umbrella into a Variable
2017
Wood, paper and bamboo
36 x 36 x 18 inches
TMs 8

Additive Color Mixing Device c. 2008-18

Tony May
Additive Color Mixing Device
c. 2000-08/2018
Wood, fabric, theatrical gels, electronics
19 x 15 x 14 inches
TMs 10

One (found on curb) Night Stand Stripped Bare (of its ruined veneer) 2017

Tony May
One (found on curb) Night Stand Stripped Bare (of its ruined veneer)
2017
Wood
26 x 14 x 16 inches
TMs 9

First Collapsible Construction 1965

Tony May
First Collapsible Construction
1965
Wood, canvas, polyethylene and thread in salesman's display case
56 x 50 x 21 inches
TMs 3

a DIBBLE 2015

Tony May
A DIBBLE
2015
Wood, glass, dibble
17 x 13 x 3 inches
TMs 1

Michael's Mirror Doors Doubled the Garden 2015

Tony May
Michael's Mirror Doors Doubled the Garden
2015
Acrylic on panel
11 x 13 inches
TMp 3

First Rain on the Repaired Deck 2015

Tony May
First Rain on the Repaired Deck
2015
Acrylic on panel
11 x 11 inches
TMp 4

About 39 Years Later 2018

Tony May
About 39 Years Later
2018
Acrylic on panel
9 x 9 inches
TMp 6

A Salvaged Mirror Creates the Illusion of A Ginnel 2017

Tony May
A Salvaged Mirror Creates the Illusion of A Ginnel
2017
Acrylic on panel
9 x 9 inches
TMp 5

Installation View, Tony May, Paintings, Objects and Devices, George Adams Gallery, New York, 2018

Installation View, Tony May, Paintings, Objects and Devices, George Adams Gallery, New York, 2018

Installation View, Tony May, Paintings, Objects and Devices, George Adams Gallery, New York, 2018

Installation View, Tony May, Paintings, Objects and Devices, George Adams Gallery, New York, 2018

Installation View, Tony May, Paintings, Objects and Devices, George Adams Gallery, New York, 2018

Installation View, Tony May, Paintings, Objects and Devices, George Adams Gallery, New York, 2018

Installation View, Tony May, Paintings, Objects and Devices, George Adams Gallery, New York, 2018

Installation View, Tony May, Paintings, Objects and Devices, George Adams Gallery, New York, 2018

Press Release

For our summer exhibition, the George Adams Gallery is pleased to announce a survey of paintings and constructions by California-based conceptual artist Tony May. As May’s first solo exhibition in New York, it will include examples from his entire career, spanning 1965 through to the present.

May combines a humble yet exacting approach with a conceptually rigorous mindset, repurposing found objects or engineering ‘improvements’. His paintings and sculptures riff on the idea of function, often with a humorous twist. Much of May’s work is self-contained: incorporating a box or case to either hold the various pieces, or as part of the piece. A highlight of the exhibition is the set of paintings done between ‘78-’81, recording various minor “Home Improvements” May executed on his San Jose home. Displayed in both a custom-fit glass fronted case and individually on the wall, the series is accompanied by an artist-made box with a built in display tray, made to store and transport the paintings. The care and labor gone into documenting these meticulous projects confers an absurdity (though elevated) status to the otherwise mundane upkeep of May’s house.

The sculptures May constructs continue in this documentarian vein, most often presenting objects – both found and fabricated – in tidy boxes. While each painting is captioned in a crisp, white-on-black text, giving them the feel of technical illustrations, the constructions likewise include descriptive plaques that identify the materials and their sources. For instance, the cat whiskers that form the bristles of a brush were collected from May’s own cat; Bruce Nauman had the pair of moccasins illuminated by ‘foot-lights’ made for May; a re-finished nightstand was found on the side of the road. In doing so, May gives his work the feel of a personal diary, as he records the actions, discoveries and constructions that are the crux of his practice. The exception is a number of variable, or collapsible, constructions, which include the earliest of May’s work in the exhibition, from 1965. Combining the aesthetics of minimalism with an absurdist bent, these echo the verbal and visual punning of the paintings and constructions. Similarly, they are self-contained, portable and easily erected: a type of functional sculpture, which can be neatly packed away and stored. This performative aspect will be demonstrated over the course of the exhibition, as the variables are periodically reinstalled in the gallery.

 

Tony May was born in 1942 in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and received his BFA and MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1966. May moved to San Jose, California in 1967 where he taught at San Jose State until his retirement in 2005. His work has been exhibited at various institutions on the West coast, including a career retrospective in 2010 at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. He has also been commissioned for several public projects, such as the Capp Street Project in San Francisco and a permanent installation at the San Jose Museum of Contemporary Art.