Hudson (Show)Room: Kate Gilmore: Girl Fight

01.10.08

Media Contact: Celina Emery
t 210 212 4900 x323
f 210 212 4990
cemery@artpace.org
www.artpace.org

SAN ANTONIO, Texas-Artpace San Antonio presents Girl Fight, on view from January 31 through April 20, 2008, in the Hudson (Show)Room. The exhibition features eight videos by Kate Gilmore, marking the artist's first major solo exhibition in a museum. Organized by Artpace Executive Director Matthew Drutt, Girl Fight provides a comprehensive look at Gilmore's performance-based practice, and features the debut of a new video and accompanying sculptural installation created at Artpace.

Kate Gilmore's work depicts the artist confronting a series of self-imposed challenges. Her comically tragic situations-a smiling performer relentlessly pelted with rotten tomatoes, an elegantly dressed woman attempting to hammer her leg out of a bucket of quick-drying mortar-question the futility of personal and cultural ritual, bringing to the foreground issues surrounding feminine identity and the struggle for success.

Her works are physically challenging and often potentially dangerous; in Cake Walk (2005) Gilmore, wearing roller skates, attempts to climb a wooden ramp that has been doused in chocolate to reach a cake beckoning at the top. Failing repeatedly to reach her goal, Gilmore portrays the difficulty of negotiating obstacles and controlling absurd or uncontrollable situations.

At Artpace, Kate Gilmore will debut a new video documenting her unaided attempt to pile a motley collection of furniture, piece by piece, in the museum's ground-floor courtyard. Once the colorful mountain of discarded sofas, chairs, and dressers reaches the second-story ledge, she will ascend the precarious tower dressed in a ball gown and wearing high heels, and enter her exhibition space via a blue-carpeted ramp. During the run of the exhibition, only the video and objects will remain as evidence of her Sisyphean task.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kate Gilmore was born in Washington D.C. in 1975 and currently lives and works in New York, NY. She received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, in 2002. She is a 2007-2008 Rome Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. She has had solo exhibitions at Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2006); Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, OH (2006); and White Columns, New York, NY (2004). Selected group exhibitions include Reckless Behavior, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2006); Mixed Emotions, Haifa Museum of Art, Israel; and Greater New York 2005, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY (2005).

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
This exhibition is made possible in part by the Linda Pace Foundation; the City of San Antonio's Office of Cultural Affairs; and The Brown Foundation, Inc.; with additional support from Texas Commission on the Arts.

Exhibition Details and Related Events:
Exhibition Dates: January 31 - April 20, 2008

Reception and Artist Walk-Thru: Thursday, January 31, 6:30-8:00 PM
The opening reception for Girl Fight will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 PM with a gallery walk-thru led by the artist at 7:00 PM.

Brown Bag Lunch: Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 12:00-1:00 PM
Join Artpace for a curator-led tour and discussion of Girl Fight. Lunch is provided by Sip ($6.50). Call Artpace for menu and reservations.

Private Tours
Tours in both Spanish and English are available by appointment. To schedule a group tour, contact Celina Emery at cemery@artpace.org or call 210 212 4900 x323.

ABOUT ARTPACE
Artpace San Antonio serves as a laboratory for the creation and advancement of international contemporary art. Artpace believes that art is a dynamic social force that inspires individuals and defines cultures. Our residencies, exhibitions, and education programs nurture the creative expression of emerging and established artists, while actively engaging youth and adult audiences.

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.

© 2008 Artpace San Antonio

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