Press Release: Michael Velliquette

New Works 04.1
03.18.04

New Works: 04.1

March 18 ?y 9, 2004

Michel FranÃ§ois Brussels, Belgium

Oliver Herring Brooklyn, New York

Michael Velliquette San Antonio, Texas

Selected by Lawrence Rinder

About the Artist

Michael Velliquette has used drawing, sculpture, and video to delve into
his psyche and daily life. Over the past decade he has recorded himself and
his surroundings, and composed environments that reflect his personal
journey. Using readily available materials classically associated with
craft?er, plastic, felt-tip markers, tape?creates all-encompassing,
fictional worlds that explore the relationship between the self and the universe
at large.

With each project Velliquette crafts a space-specific piece that encourages
thoughts about humans and the world around us. To hasten the contemplation
of metaphysics he employs a wealth of visual stimulants reminiscent of 1960s
psychedelia and more recent rave culture. In his installation The Depth of the
Drop (2003), a darkened room was crisscrossed by paper streamers
printed with images of the galaxy. Projected on one wall was a video of a
storm, while looped on a monitor was footage of a starry-eyed mummy singing
sad soul songs. The work sparked thoughts about the afterlife and where we
go from here. Like his other work, the piece used dramatic means to distill
attention onto the intersection of science, cosmology, philosophy, and religion.

Michael Velliquette was born in 1971 in Sandusky, OH and has lived in
San Antonio, TX since receiving his MFA from the University of Wisconsin,
Madison in 2000. Recent solo exhibitions include The Suburban, Chicago, IL
(2004) as well as Three Walls (2003), Blue Star Contemporary Art Center
(2003) and Cactus Bra Space (2003) in San Antonio, TX. Velliquette's work
has been shown in group exhibitions at Deitch Projects, New York, NY (2003);
the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX (2002); and the Ontario College of
Art and Design, Toronto, Canada (1999).

About the Project

Michael Velliquette's project at ArtPace is an explosion of color and
material. With the Ã¼ in the i he has created an intense physical
atmosphere that overflows with repeated visual motifs that enchant the eyes
while moving forward his long-standing investigation of Self and the cosmos.

Velliquette has made a space within a space, constructing an enormous
cardboard box inside of what would otherwise be a white, three-walled
gallery. Like the closet in C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe, a doorway in into the space serves as the threshold beyond
which lies another reality.

The viewer discovers the land by walking on a path of plastic tarps
covering the floor. The road leads over a small bridge, toward a cave, and to
a giant hand-shaped pillow lying on the floor. Passed along the way are neon
pink and yellow sine waves, sunny rainbows of colored tape, watery
cascades of blue plastic, and anonymous, double-sided profiles cut out of
galaxy-printed paper.

Compounding the sense of a person exploring the past, present, future,
and the world beyond, is the overwhelming presence of outstretched,
searching fingers. From each corner hangs a six-foot cardboard hand
punctuated by a planetary mobile. Giant palms reach out of the walls, and an
enormous pair of inquiring eyes probe the space for answers.

The multitude of elements in the Ã¼ in the i encourages an acute
awareness of one's place in the universe. It is a mysteriously ordered
disorder?otent metaphor for the rhythms of life on this planet, and
perhaps what lies beyond.

Exhibition Dates

March 18 ?y 9, 2004

Opening Reception

Thursday, March 18, 6:30-8:30 PM

Artists' Dialogue

Friday, March 19, 6:30-8:00 PM

Featuring Michel FranÃ§ois, Oliver Herring, and Michael Velliquette. Moderated
by Lawrence Rinder, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New
York, New York.

Brown Bag Lunch

Wednesday, April 14, 12:00-1:00 PM

Join Education and Curatorial Associate Kate Green for a tour of New
Works: 04.1 and a brown bag lunch provided by Sip. Please call Artpace
for reservations.

Lecture: Art and the Stars

Thursday, May 6, 6:30-8:00 PM

Take part in this evening program contextualizing Michael Velliquette's
project. Dr. Rafael L—pez-Mobilia, Assistant Professor of Physics in the
department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Texas at San
Antonio, will speak about theories of universal order.

Event Locations

All events held at Artpace, 445 N. Main Avenue. Free parking at Flores Street
and Savings. Artpace is open to the public Wednesday thru Sunday, 12-5pm,
Thursday until 8pm and by appointment. There is no charge for
admission.

About Artpace

Artpace San Antonio serves as an advocate for contemporary art and as
a catalyst for the creation of significant art projects. We seek to nurture
emerging and established artists and to provide opportunities for inspiration,
experimentation, and education. Our programs support the evolution of new
ideas in contemporary art and cultivate diverse audiences while providing a
forum for ongoing dialogue.

The International Artist-in-Residence program is supported by The Andy
Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the
Arts.

445 North Main Avenue San Antonio TX 78205 t 210 212 4900 f 210 212 4990 www.artpace.org