Tuesday, July 13, 2010

CELLAR DOOR



I have some work in this show that opens tomorrow at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis. I'm excited, to say the least. Special thanks to Marie Heilich for asking me to be a part of it.


A group exhibition in The Front Room
featuring work by Alex Da Corte, Trevor Reese and Justin Visnesky.
Guest curated by Marie Heilich.
July 14-August 1

Open Studios Preview Party- Tuesday, July 20th, 6-8PM



Although ordinary by definition and insignificant in meaning, "cellar door" is said to be the most phonetically beautiful combination of words in the English language. Similar to the word pairing, this exhibition explores unglorified objects that transcend their original mundanity once recontextualized. As a result of living in a production and consumption based society in the aftermath of the post-modern era, artists have taken on the role of editor rather than creator.

In a selection of photographs from the series Sometimes You Just Know, Justin Visnesky avoids staging or manipulation of images and instead selects casual moments to document, resonating nostalgia and sincerity. In Trevor Reese’s interactive installation Hope to See You Soon, fruit is moved from a stand to a shelf, while the fruit on the shelf is consumed daily. Alex Da Corte’s hand-crafted banner Forever and Ever mimics a store-bought decoration, aside from the curiously idealistic sentiment. Da Corte’s untitled installation is composed of six plastic swords and one metal sword arranged to lean against the gallery wall in a line.

Similar to the way products are made with a universal purpose for the anonymous individual, the reemployment of objects in an art context can provoke shared experiences thus reactivating the cycle of production and consumption. Through the selection, arrangement and context of the white cube, prefabricated objects are infused with a new poetic purpose readily available for the viewer’s consumption.

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