Irby Pace

Irby Pace creates his art by reverse engineering everyday common objects and devices. This is driven from his childhood where he would take things apart, then he would figure out how they worked and put them back together or found other possibilities for the devices. He sees the artistic possibilities in all of the things around him and he uses this to his advantage. Irby Pace was born in Odessa, Texas. In 2005 he moved to Lubbock, Texas to attended Texas Tech University where he received his BFA in Photography in 2008. He received his MFA from The University of North Texas in 2012.

His work has been featured in Wired Magazine, The Huffington Post, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, and The Dallas Observer among many other websites, blogs and online magazines. Pace’s work was featured on the cover of the November 2013 issue of The Dallas Observer. From 2012 – 2013 he was a member of 500x, Texas’ oldest, largest artist run cooperative gallery. Pace is an Adjunct Professor at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, El Centro Community College in Downtown Dallas and The Art Institute of Ft. Worth.

Irby Pace is represented by Galleri Urbane in Dallas, Texas.
To acquire Irby Pace photography contact Galleri Urbane

Artist Statement: Idle Voids—Pop!

In artistic compositions, negative space usually takes on a secondary role to the primary subject matter. Some believe that this void represents everything that is lacking in human experience. Writer Mark Levy, PhD., states that this is an experience of Western culture, and that the void can be “directly experienced in the gap between thoughts.” I am finding these empty spaces and making them tangible through photography.

The floating phenomenons in my photographs fill the void of the urban and natural landscapes. I alter the real physical space with real floating colorful clouds of smoke and allow nature to dictate the shape and duration. This allows me to capture the momentary glimpse of the vacant space. By using crude and readily available resources, I am experimenting with the tension of upward or outward movement against the downward force of gravity, creating the illusion of gravity defiance.