International Artist-in-Residence: NewWorks: 09.1

03.10.09

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

San Antonio, TX - Artpace San Antonio is pleased to announce New Works: 09.1 opening March 19, 2009. Guest curator Trevor Smith, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, will present new projects by Sterling Allen (Austin, TX), Richard Grayson (London, England), and Christian Tomaszewski (New York, New York).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Sterling Allen is an artist and curator who in 1996 co-founded the alternative gallery Okay Mountain in Austin, Texas. His found-object-based drawings and sculptures are constructed of images culled from internet databases or objects purchased at yard sales. Allen's Artpace project, Housing Edition, comprises a constellation of three identical miniature houses constructed by hand and a triptych titled Stillwater Shanty. Although each of the miniature houses was created in an exacting fashion and covered with similar materials, the varying wear and tear of respective found elements used to create the sculptures reveals idiosyncrasies in the series, bringing a DIY (do-it-yourself) aesthetic to the concept of the edition. In turn, the oil paintings that make-up the Stillwater Shanty triptych were reproduced by a Chinese mail order company from an image of the "house" placed in an idyllic forest setting. In its entirety, Housing Edition is a multilayered investigation of visual language and varying modes of interpretation.

Richard Grayson's video and multi-media works expand on the tri-fold relationship between religious and social belief systems, individual expression, and the development of cultural identity. Grayson's Artpace exhibition, The Golden Space City of God, is a high-definition immersive video installation featuring footage of a choral performance. The lyrics, with an oratorio written by composer Leo Chadburn, are drawn from web-based texts associated with the heterodox religious cult The Family (formerly The Children of God). These narratives combine elements from the Book of Revelation with science fiction imagery to describe events leading up to the end of the world. Though charged with the authority of religious fundament, Grayson's account does not intend to convey apocalyptic enlightenment; rather, it raises questions surrounding our models of interpretation and communication.

Polish native Christian Tomaszewski's installations and filmic works investigate psychological response to architectural form, often incorporating cinematic narrative. For his project at Artpace, Tomaszewski created WHEN LOVE TURNS WITH A LITTLE INDULGENCE TO INDIFFERENCE OR DISGUST (WHEN), an installation that incorporates several bodies of work. The gallery is divided into three linear corridors, cordoned off by whitewashed walls constructed of cardboard. Each space contains a distinct setting-with elements rendered in neon, film, metal, or print-which viewers see in sequence as they are guided through a miniature labyrinth. Meant to be experienced in relative solitude, the multipart environment contains a series of abstracted or fragmented works that thematically address the influence of architecture, the psychology of fantasy, and the development of narrative.

ABOUT THE CURATOR
Trevor Smith is the Curator of Contemporary Art at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Prior to Smith was a Curator-in-Residence at the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY (2007-08). From 2003 to 2006, he was Curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY. He has curated numerous exhibitions, including I Repeat Myself When Under Stress, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, MI (2009); Bread and Soccer: In the Arena of Art, Austrian Cultural Forum, New York, NY (2008); and Martin Creed: Feelings, Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY (2007). In 2001 Smith curated a major survey of Robert MacPherson's work and presented the artist as the Australian representative at the XXV Bienal de São Paulo, Brazil.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
New Works: 09.1 is made possible by Linda Pace Foundation; the City of San Antonio's Office of Cultural Affairs; National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; 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 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, and by appointment. Admission is free.

© 2009 Artpace San Antonio

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