contact: Jenelle Porter
jporter@artistsspace.org
(212) 226-3970 x27
New Exhibitions at Artists Space
January 27–March 17, 2001; opening reception January 27, 6-8pm
main gallery: "Really": Frank Benson, Steven Brower, David Henry Brown, Jr., Alain Bublex, The Butterflies of Love, Kate Howard, Janice Kerbel, Cees Krijnen, Matthieu Laurette
project space: Antenna Design, The Emperor’s New Clothes
project space 2: Joyce Kim
main gallery
"Really": Frank Benson, Steven Brower, David Henry Brown, Jr., Alain Bublex, The Butterflies of Love, Kate Howard, Janice Kerbel, Cees Krijnen, Matthieu Laurette
Perhaps the technological explosion, the constructed worlds of cyberspace and digital manipulation, are to blame for the current, seemingly worldwide, obsession with "Real Life." There presently exists a notion that unedited, unscripted, reality is much more exciting than fiction or fantasy; in an age of exponentially expanding entertainment and information options, media presentations repeatedly offer us a window into the real world, however tedious, painful or palpably boring. It is within this context that Artists Space presents "Really", a group exhibition by artists who consciously operate in the borderlands between reality and fantasy, art and life. Using video, sculpture, digital prints, photography and architectural drawings, the artists challenge notions of authenticity, provoking us to question the assumptions, institutions or established narratives that constitute our daily lives. Often humorously, they deliberately position the
viewer in the realm of uncertainty.
Miami-based artist, Frank Benson, in a seemingly impromptu live video interview, convincingly recounts a story about his summer vacation, and particularly his relationship with his mother, a tale which sounds tall but might be true. Similarly, although created without digital or other manipulation, his color photographs cause a moment of skepticism – the viewer is left questioning their veracity.
Steven Brower challenges our desire to create belief systems that we can hold onto, or buy into, thereby wholeheartedly placing our trust in society and its institutions of power. In 50% A7L, Brower’s recreation of an Apollo space suit to exactly one-half scale, the reality of the replication, and our knowledge that no child has yet walked on the moon, combine to confront our inherent knowledge systems and the propagandist nature of the US space program.
Known for his adoption of the persona of "Alex von Furstenberg" for his last solo exhibition in New York, David Henry Brown, Jr., here presents a piece from his Donald Trump series, whereby he became a true Trump fanatic and attempted to join the Donald’s as-yet-unannounced Presidential campaign.The question is “Who is more “real” in this photograph, the celebrity or the artist?” Will Donald reward his fan with an appearance at the exhibition opening?
French artist Alain Bublex trained at The Industrial Design School in Paris, and worked for eight years as a car designer for Renault before becoming an artist. Based on his knowledge of automobile history, Bublex has created an evolutionary study which recreates the "missing link" between the radical car designs of the 1930’s, a revolutionary time for automobile architecture, and the, perhaps banal, cars of today. Humorously, his Aerofiat is based upon the Fiat 126, possibly one of the ugliest car designs of the 1970’s.
The Butterflies of Love, a band from New Haven, Connecticut, have been poised for rock super stardom all their lives. Despite a troublesome name and interminable hours at their day jobs in galleries, prisons, churches, one room school
houses, town halls, museums, and factories, The Butterflies of Love have spent the last year recording the follow up to their relatively successful debut How to Know The Butterflies of Love. Led by Daniel and Jeffrey Greene –a theologian and a painter respectively who are unrelated – the band sings songs about drinking, blowing things up, and extended hospital stays. They will release a special edition Valentine’s Day single on vinyl for the exhibition, available at the gallery and selected record stores.A live gig in Manhattan or Hoboken will be announced.
The work of Kate Howard questions the creation of hierarchies of artifice and the presentation of reality within drama and documentary.A two-channel video, Tone Clusters seemingly presents an interview with the parents of a school-age participant (whether victim or perpetrator is left unclear) of an event that has become part of a media spectacle.In fact, a rehearsal from a Joyce Carol Oates play, this complex piece highlights the manipulation used in news programming and reportage to create seamless, heart-rending narratives.
Janice Kerbel, a Canadian artist living in London, created 15 Lombard Street over a period of approximately 18 months. Undertaking surveillance of the prestigious Coutts Bank in London’s banking district, she masterminded a thorough plan for the perfect bank robbery, from a minute-by-minute synopsis of events, to precise route directions for the getaway to a remote Spanish village.Presented on bulletin boards, as if in a police crime room or a court exhibit taken from the robbers’ hideout, the accuracy and detail in the work is disturbing.
After the divorce of his parents, Cees Krijnen made his mother’s life the focus of his art, in the hope that it might help her begin anew.Woman in Divorce Battle on Tour presents her fresh beginnings, including a world tour as an advocate for divorced women.Renovation/Reconstruction is a series of architectural drawings developed with engineer Jerry van der Eem which show the new central heating system the artist installed for his mother using prize monies from the Prix de Rome, awarded specifically for this project. “The new heating system radiates the son’s love and literally surrounds the mother with warmth”, at the same time eliminating traces of his father from the matrimonial home.
From his TV and game-show appearances to Feed an Artist for 100 Francs and Showroom of Money-back Products, Matthieu Laurette often creates work that involves a degree of participation on the part of the viewer.In”Help me to become a US citizen!" he will present a "How to" project, an attempt to firstly become a US permanent resident and then to be naturalized. Available both in the gallery and on the world wide web, at www.citizenship-project.com/usa the artist aims to use the proposal to realize appropriate living conditions in New York, such as a job, an apartment, a decent standard of living and sponsorship, whether as an artist, through marriage, or through an employer.
Throughout the exhibition, the relationship between the artist and the viewer is critical.These works ask us to reconsider notions of the “suspension of disbelief” in the interactions that make up our daily lives. What is art, what is life, and what is artifice? Really?
Really is made possible, in part, by contributions from Étant donnés and the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York. In-kind services for the exhibition are provided by Zuma Digital.
project space:
Antenna Design, The Emperor’s New Clothes
curated by Janet Abrams
The space may look familiar but the experience isn't: a white wall with a row of empty clothes hangers, and an adjacent fitting room. But this situation offers a whole new wardrobe of possibilities. Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger, partners in New York-based Antenna Design, address the relationship between self-image, digital technology, fashion retailing and spectacle in a changing room unlike any other in Soho. "The Emperor's New Clothes" gives new meaning to the phrase wearable computing."
Antenna Design recently ……..MTA stuffJanet Abrams….
The Emporer’s New Clothes is made possible, in part, by a contribution from The Greenwall Foundation.
project space 2:
Joyce Kim
Building her works from poured and cut latex, Kim creates abstract, lyrical paintings. The resulting works, often large-scale, provide a litany of techniques that move through abstraction and minimalism, to the material qualities of paint itself. By deliberately exercising the various motions of painting, Kim addresses the validity of the continued practice of abstract painting.
Artists Space is located at 38 Greene Street, 3rd floor, and the corner of Grand Street.
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11-6. Information: (212) 226-3970, fax (212) 966-1434.
www.laurette.net / projects / 2001 / Really