VOL. 1 : NH DEPASS

August 30th - October 7th 2023

Swivel is thrilled to launch "Prelude", an innovative series of capsule projects hosted at our flagship location at 396 Johnson Avenue. 

This initiative is designed to provide a first encounter with the practice of an artist on the gallery’s horizon. The core of this concept revolves around an intimate presentation to introduce a deeper dive in a future exhibition: in our viewing room, a chosen artist will take the stage alongside our trio of full-scale exhibitions. Serving as a point of introduction, this compact yet impactful display will allow viewers to create first impressions of the gallery’s new talents, establishing the thematic essence of our upcoming collaboration. Swivel is proud to embark on our first installment of the series with artist NH DePass.

Hailing from New Orleans, DePass specializes in sculptural and installation art, crafting pieces that generate a captivating juxtaposition between tradition and innovation.  

His mid-century Modern design sculptures along with the eccentric objects they include, match the tenor of the artist’s drawings by toiling with vintage Americana and American popular culture in a bombardment of depictions of American rock-and-roll, cowboy life, and the precarity of living on the edge, that make the artist’s works feel alive, yet haunted. 

At the same time, the fusion of the antique-inspired aesthetic of the wood cabinets interweaves classical carpentry with cutting-edge digital graphics and printing techniques, opening a digitally rendered critique of nostalgia for a simpler time and a pre-digital world. 

The result is a body of work that defies conventional historical and cultural timelines. 

His inaugural piece “Dad Sculpture” presented in the gallery  reimagines the notion of portraiture, presenting unique depictions that more closely resemble cabinets of curiosity than traditional painted likenesses.

Each of DePass's unique cabinets pays homage to its namesake, housing a treasure trove of cherished items and significant keepsakes that mirror the subject's essence of character. A scavenger hunt of sorts, these tucked-away objects invite viewers to piece together clues to construct an intimate image of the individual in question: filled with prized possessions and significant mementos, which imitate their subject’s interests, habits, and vices, they allow one to connect clues to form an idea of someone based on material objects. 

DePass’ chests honor the living as they visually and metaphorically resemble above ground tombs, but rather than being reminders of death, they eventually turn into poetic vessels meant to celebrate the individuals. 

NH DePass (b.1990) is an artist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He holds an MFA in Sculpture from The Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY and a BA from The Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA. In his work there is disjuncture between old and new: a tension between craft and digital innovation. DePass uses classical techniques like hand sewing and carpentry while incorporating digital graphics and printing to create works that disturb historical and cultural timelines. In 2021, his work was featured in the solo exhibition Form Destroyer at Thierry Goldberg Gallery in New York City. He has exhibited in group exhibitions at The Pit, Los Angeles; Public Gallery, London; GYNP Gallery, Berlin; and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans. In 2021, he was awarded “1st” place in the Louisiana Contemporary exhibition at the Ogden Museum of Southern art.