Press Release: Artpace Announces Power Play In The Hudson (Show)Room:
May 3 - July 15, 2007
05.03.07
For Immediate Release: April 25, 2007
Media Contact: Celina Emery
t 210 212 4900 x323
f 210 212 4990
cemery@artpace.org
www.artpace.org
SAN ANTONIO, TX ?>Power Play marks the Texas debut of Paris-based artists Adel Abdessemed, Mircea Cantor, and duo Claire Fontaine. Featuring videos, photographs, and sculpture created against the backdrop of cultural confrontation and recent social unrest in France, Power Play employs dark humor and strategic play to question and resist traditional power structures and relationships that underpin the global artworld.
Highlights from the exhibition include Abdessemed’s poetic Sphˇres II (2006), composed of military-issue razor wire manipulated into five-foot circles; Cantor’s film projection Deeparture (2005), featuring a wolf endlessly stalking a terrified deer in the charged space of a stark white gallery; and Claire Fontaine’s If You See Something, Say Something (2005), a bulging rucksack ominously placed in a corner of the gallery.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Adel Abdessemed was born in Constatine, Algeria in 1971. Recently, his work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at such venues as FRAC Champagne Ardenne, Reims, France; the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; and the Brighton Photo Biennial, England.
Mircea Cantor was born in Oradea, Romania in 1977. His work has been exhibited at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois; the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania.
Claire Fontaine is composed of James Thornhill, born in London, England in 1967 and Fulvia Carnevale, born in Naples, Italy in 1975. Claire Fontaine has exhibited at The Sculpture Center, New York, New York; Museo d'arte moderna e contemporanea, Bolzano, Italy; Espace Paul Ricard, Paris, France; and the University of California Art Gallery, Irvine, California.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Power Play is made possible in part by The City of San Antonio, Office of Cultural Affairs and The Brown Foundation, Inc., with additional support from Etant donnˇs: The French-American Fund for Contemporary Art.
Exhibition Details and Related Events
Exhibition Dates
May 3 ?ly 15, 2007
Reception and Artist Walk-Thru
May 3, 2007, 6:30-8:00 PM
The opening reception for Power Play will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 PM with a gallery walk-thru led by contributing artist James Thornhill of Claire Fontaine at 7:00 PM.
Brown Bag Lunch
Wednesday, June 20, 2007, 12:00-1:00 PM
Join Artpace for a gallery walk-thru and discussion of Power Play. Lunch is provided by Sip ($6.50). Call Artpace for menu and reservations.
Also on View at Artpace
New Works: 07.1 presents new projects by resident artists Glenn Kaino (Los Angeles, California), Robert Pruitt (Houston, Texas), and Katja Strunz (Berlin, Germany). Selected by Debra Singer, Executive Director and Chief Curator of The Kitchen (New York, New York), these three artists seek in their own ways to remix and replay perception and experience through video, photographs, prints, drawings, sculpture, and installation. On view through May 13, 2007.
New Works: 07.1 is made possible by the City of San Antonio. Office of Cultural Affairs; National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art; The Brown Foundation, Inc.; Nimoy Foundation; and Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, with additional support from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
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.
Artpace is located downtown at 445 North Main Avenue, between Savings and Martin streets, San Antonio, Texas. Free parking is available at 513 North Flores Street. Artpace is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5 PM, Thursday, 12-8 PM, and by appointment. Admission is free.
445 North Main Avenue San Antonio TX 78205 t 210 212 4900 f 210 212 4990 www.artpace.org
© 2007 Artpace San Antonio