Hudson (Show)Room: Oliver Lutz: Paint It Black

05.08.08

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

SAN ANTONIO, Texas-In New York-based Oliver Lutz's first major museum show, Paint it Black, Artpace presents an exhibition experience exploring dimensions of contemporary mass spectacle. Imposing, oversized painted panels, cloaking pigments, sound, and surveillance technology implicate the viewer in a NASCAR event that at once unveils and meditates the disassociation of mass spectacle and atomized spectator. Unwittingly, the viewer becomes a participant in the race environment along with hundreds of thousands of fans depicted in the paintings viewing the hyper-powered, brand-saturated sporting event in self-imposed isolation donning headphones and toting handheld televised broadcasts.

Curated by Artpace Executive Director Matthew Drutt, Paint it Black features six oversized paintings which appear solid black to the naked eye. Covered in infrared sensitive paint, the underpainted imagery is displayed in an adjoining gallery via eleven monitors connected to ultraviolet surveillance cameras in the main exhibition space. The small monitors reveal intricately painted, photo-realistic scenes from a National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) event.

In one painting detail revealed via television monitor, the artist portrays the typical race fan, complete with aviator glasses and headphones. In the sky above, military jets execute a symbolic flyover maneuver that launches each NASCAR event. And although the planes are not yet half way over the race course, the subject has become disinterested, calling into question the effects of the hyper-branded, super-saturated environment on attendees.

The monitors in the "surveillance gallery" also capture visitors to the exhibition space, depicting them in the midst of Lutz's compositions as they contemplate the blacked out paintings. The superimposition of the exhibition visitor among the race fans forges a connection between the art viewer and NASCAR fan, the gallery and racetrack.

All of the work in the Hudson (Show)Room was commissioned and produced by Artpace San Antonio for the exhibition. In addition to the new work debuting at Artpace, a selection of earlier performance videos are on display in Artpace's lobby entrance.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Oliver Lutz was born and raised with his twin brother on a goat farm in rural Maine. He received his MFA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, in 2006. His work has been included in the following group exhibitions: Übergangsräume-Potential Spaces, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Germany (2007); Wight Biennial: Anxiety of Influence, New Wight Gallery, Broad Art Center, Los Angeles, CA (2006); A Forest I, FILTER projektraum, Hamburg, Germany (2006); and Kamp K48, John Connelly Presents, New York, NY (2006). Lutz was recently awarded the IV International Painting Prize, Certamen de pintura Diputación de Castellón, Spain (2007).

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.

Exhibition Details and Related Events:
Exhibition Dates: May 8 - August 17, 2008

Reception and Artist Walk-Thru: Thursday, May 8, 6:30-8:00 PM
The opening reception for Oliver Lutz 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, June 11, 2008, 12:00-1:00 PM
Join Artpace for a curator-led tour and discussion of Oliver Lutz. 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