DEMAREST, NJ – The Mikhail Zakin Gallery at The Art School at Old Church is excited to present Aipotu: Visions, a group exhibition of contemporary artists and their myriad representations of Utopia. The exhibit is on view through January 17, 2012. There is a free, public reception on Thursday, December 15, 2011, from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. The exhibition is wheelchair accessible.
The etymology, or root of the word utopia is a good place to start contemplating the Aipotu: Visions exhibition and the artists represented. The word Utopia comes from the Greek: οὐ ("not") and τόπος ("place") and translates literally as “no place”. Essentially, it suggests that the perfect place can be found no place. On the other hand, beauty can be found in pursuing such a place through the artistic spirit and its many manifestations. Most importantly, artists unique visions of what utopia may be like, whether real or imaginary, can change the world.
As a result, utopia is a strong current of thought and a great source of inspiration for many artists over the ages. From the stark modernist pursuits of the Bauhaus school to the idealistic endeavors of the artists of Black Mountain College and into our own time with the dystopian chaos in the work of Ryan Trecartin, the ideas embodied by utopian thinking have been consistently pursued by artists of each era. Neither totally utopian nor dystopian, the artists in this exhibition hold a place much more elusive in their meaning and intention.
Patricia Smith’s mythic worlds are created with pen, ink and rubber stamps. Using the language of historical nautical maps and illustrations, her work transports the viewer into strange and unfamiliar places. Her drawings are engaged with the whole gamut of human emotion, from the utopian notion of a city built for one, to the more melancholy feeling of a space dedicated solely to mourning. In this vein, yet accomplished through sculpture, Kim Holleman’s work is most directly engaged with the duality of utopia and dystopia proposed by the exhibition with much of her work depicting the beauty that can come from the most detrimental environmental catastrophes. Gleaming pools of oil and caustic rust are placed in what could otherwise be considered a more traditional and idyllic setting.
The work of Andrew Bain and Chris Ballantyne comes from a surreal tradition, with paintings and installations that truly depict no place. Bain’s work gives the viewer a glimpse into a fantastical world, a triad of anthropomorphic animals, laser rainbows and huge clusters of roses. Ballantyne’s paintings are focused on the human landscape, where strange but seemingly familiar interventions and architectural slights of hand create dream like worlds. Each has a very distinct style, but a calm sensibility permeates the work, creating openings for earnest contemplation. In the most abstract sense, Gillian Stoneburner’s paintings are surreal combinations of landscapes and cultural references. They are playful in their subtly subversive nature, yet have a sense of urgency and discomfort.
In Brandon Friend’s timely series of work, menacing riot police with shields and batons drawn are rendered intricately through the collage of delicate wrapping papers and domestic patterns. Through this technique, the traditional symbols of dystopia are diluted to the point of becoming beautiful. Using a similar strategy, Ross Racine’s computer rendered drawings of suburban tracts found in every corner of the United States takes this utopian ideal to its extreme. Endless rows of houses and roads to and from nowhere expose some of the more poetic and comical aspects to this dream gone wrong.
Each artist in the show brings a unique vision of what “no place” could potentially be like. With the world spinning faster each day, these visions help slow it down from time to time, in the most unexpected ways.
For more information on the Art School at Old Church, visit www.tasoc.org or call 201-767-7160.
561 Piermont Road
Demarest, NJ 07627
201-767-7160
www.tasoc.org
Gallery hours
Monday - Friday: 9:30 AM - 5:00 PM & 7:00-9:00 PM
Saturday: 9:30 AM - 12: 00 PM
