Air Gallery :  Review by Sharon Gerard Hoffman of International Art Scene, Houston Texas, 1980.

It looked as if an installation was in progress upon entering the Air Gallery in London. The thirty foot square room was inhabited by two people watching a video monitor placed behind a generous sheet of white paper, a portion of it torn away to reveal the screen. The white walls were mostly bare except for another length of the same white paper with black writing. On the wooden floor was an array of "stuff" which resembled trash, or at best "found objects". One corner of the gallery space contained some framed writings by the artist, Terry Duffy, stating his concept of art and his definition of line.   A conversation which I overheard between the artist and the gallery director offered clues to the meaning of this space and the purpose of the exhibition. Our conversation ensued with a discussion of the artist's intent: to involve and communicate, to expand art to the world whether contained in the gallery or beyond; in a way to educate and to foster an awareness about art. His constantly changing life-sized collage, though anti-object was not intended to be anti-gallery. He was not responding to the commercialism of the art world as did Vita Acconci or Chris Burden by making art which cannot be purchased. Instead he was attempting to awaken creative freedom through ACTION.  This exhibition was gruelling for the artist. Terry Duffy had to be present during the entire every hour the gallery was open to the public. His task as an artist was to create a communication, a dialogue with the audience. His art cannot be passively observed but involves audience participation. The experience of pure, non-verbal dialogue with only the language of line, space, mass, colour, was at once exhilarating and exhausting. With total freedom we agreed on the rules of our "art game". It can be likened to a game of chess except there can be no winners or losers. There are no strategic moves, there is no sense of preciousness or preconception. There are only two people, two minds, two aesthetics, and a myriad of tools and supplies with which to "play". We decided on limiting our "moves" to thirty seconds apiece and set the limitation of time to one hour. Alternately we drew lines on the floor, put paint on the wall, entwined columns with string, stapled tree limbs to posts, swept away and rearranged each others thoughts. The results? Symbolism and imagery were unspoken but read, an awareness of the effect that every movement and each object entered into the greater whole was a sense of space and scale as it related to people and objects.