"NEW"

JANUARY 10 - FEBRUARY 14, 2004

Reception January 10, 6 - 8 pm

Please join us to celebrate our new gallery space in Culver City with an exhibition of new works by

EDGAR ARCENEAUX, STEVEN CRIQUI, SEAN DUFFY, RODNEY MCMILLIAN, MARTIN MCMURRAY,

YUNHEE MIN, WANGECHI MUTU, ROBERT OLSEN, PATRICK WILSON, STEVE RODEN

AND A VIDEO PROJECT BY JOEL TAUBER
 

For the inaugural exhibition, several gallery artists have created new works that explore their particular artistic strategies and at the same time respond to the spatial characteristics of the new gallery space. While each artist maintains their idiosyncratic vision, there is a relaxed thematic connection between the works as each reaches for the "impossible", a new horizon that opens up potential and promise.

Edgar Arceneaux and Rodney McMillian are collaborating on a project that traces the trajectory of cultural influences of pop icon Michael Jackson. Probing the formation of the star's persona through the different forces in his life, the artists prepared for this project by traveling to Gary, Indiana, the birthplace of Michael Jackson. The work investigates the construction of Jackson's subjectivity as a vehicle to understand the function of the icon in post-industrial America.

Sean Duffy presents his most ambitious sculpture yet. Entitled "International Playboy", the piece is a used 1993 Geo Metro, which has been reduced to a shell of its former self. Seen from a single vantage point (e.g. the entrance to the gallery) the car appears whole, but as the viewer moves into and around the exhibition space, the object is revealed as a mere façade braced from behind. A melancholy pop soundtrack provided by its stereo suggests a narrative about a teenager’s love/hate relationship with a disappointing first car - the space between the promise of freedom and the reality of an adolescent's pocketbook.

Steven Criqui, Yunhee Min, Martin McMurray, Wangechi Mutu, Robert Olsen, Patrick Wilson and Steve Roden present new paintings, each one responding to the characteristics of the main exhibition space.

In the video space, Joel Tauber shows "Searching for the Impossible: the Flying Project". This 30 minute video explores the artist's attempt to fly 150 feet above a dry lake in the desert without any mechanical devices other than hot air balloons and - music. Playing tunes with a bag pipe, the artist embarks on a quest to push the boundaries of the "impossible". In a tradition reaching back from Elmer the Flying Monk to Don Quichote and Chris Burden, Tauber adopts the role of a fool to accomplish his amazing and beautiful journey into the heavens.

The new gallery is located at 5795 West Washington Blvd in Culver City, 3 blocks east of La Cienega Blvd within walking distance of the Blum & Poe Gallery. Gallery Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 12 - 6 pm and by appointment.
Directions: Take the 10 frwy east, exit on Washington / Fairfax, turn left, it's the second building on your right. 10 frwy coming from the westside, take the La Cienega exit, go south to Washington Blvd, turn left, the building is in the 3rd block on your left.