All seven artists included in this juried exhibition explore the notion of construction within their work, whether it be a physical, psychological, or social creation. Wes Kline and Katherine Nonemaker each respond to physical manifestations. Capturing images inside structures created by one of the most iconic architects of our time—Le Corbusier (1887–1965)—Kline layers modes of seeing with notions of interior and exterior space and the pursuit of an architectural utopian. Nonemaker’s prints and paintings adopt a somewhat apocalyptic approach, illustrating the precarious state of the industrial age with the constructed world in decay.
For collaborative artists Anand and Sauer it is an exploration of the psychological constructs of self-identity and personal boundaries. The photographs resulting from this investigation are physically woven together merging artistic production and authorship. Joshua Welker’s drawings and sculptures seem to come out of a study of art history and phenomenology. The artist investigates the ubiquitous forms of “the pedestal and the architectural support” while creating an experience that acknowledges the viewer’s consciousness of the physicality of the constructed world.
Language as a social construct and system informs the work of Katie Kehoe and Garry Noland. Kehoe utilizes the word “and” as a connector—a means through which to investigate structure and language particularly as it relates to a psychological state. Noland’s multimedia works provide a visual representation of the reduction of language into a binary system—the International Morse Code. Each of the seven artists highlight the dual nature of the word “construct” as both a verb and a noun—the building up of a physical structure or a concept systematically realized into existence—and perhaps underscore how this characteristic is akin to the art-making process itself.
Artists: Katie Kehoe, Wes Kline, Garry Noland, Katherine Nonemaker, Damon Sauer, Josh Welker
Through photography, video, and performance art, Erin Zerbe’s work explores the body and its relationship to fatness, sexuality, and body policing. Zerbe is an artist, an activist, and a fat woman in a thin centric society and she calls into question what is abject about fatness. She puts the grotesque on display in a way that makes mention of the unrealistic standards set forth by hegemonic society, and how being fat can be a rejection of this pressure to conform. This work challenges the ideals placed upon the fat body in contemporary society with whimsy and resistance. Zerbe celebrates aspects of the fat body, emphasizes sexuality, and produces a visual language that borders on fetish; she strives to evoke a response, whether it is laughter, sadness, discomfort, or anger. These gut reactions speak to what we see in each other, and what we see in ourselves.
School 33 Art Center is pleased to announce Up in the Clouds, a solo exhibit of art by Lana Stephens. Looking up at the sky and watching the “landscape” change form effortlessly is a quintessentially human activity. The sky is an entity known by all but it is also very specific in regards to our personal landscapes. The charcoal on vellum drawings and video in this exhibit, inspired by the sky, cloudscapes and the atmosphere, meditate on the relationship between power, beauty and environmentalism.
