GULF
August 12 – September 19, 2013
Reception: Wednesday, September 4, 6 – 8 pm
Matthew Baum
Ingrid Calame
Liz Deschenes
Michelle Elzay
Dan Graham
Izima Kaoru
Lynn Sullivan
Joan van Barneveld
Adriana Varejão
Curated by Casey Ruble
Existence is a series of footnotes to a vast, obscure, unfinished masterpiece. — Vladimir Nabokov
The idea of vastness has captured mankind’s imagination for centuries. It is present in everything from Byzantine cathedrals to the lunar landing, ancient star maps to the mapping of the human genome, the establishment of the Silk Road to the birth of the information highway. As a metaphor it reflects both endless possibilities and our limitations in realizing them. It also implies dual impulses toward connection and individuation: Why else do we reach if not to touch something on the other side? And doesn’t that touch help articulate who we are and who we are not?
Acknowledging that a complete examination of the idea of vastness would be, by definition, impossible, “Gulf” offers a few different frameworks for conceptualizing this evocative and multivalent subject. Works by emerging and established contemporary artists explore various expanses and gaps—physical, temporal, cultural, psychological, semantic, and visual. Together, the works together touch on a breadth of themes: perception, illusion, transgression, serenity, anticipation, corporeality, displacement, and longing.
For more information, contact Casey Ruble at caseyruble@gmail.com
image: Izima Kaoru, detail of Toyosu, Tokyo Winter Solstice (One Sun)
