Thursday, March 18, from 7 to 9 pm, Hamiltonian Gallery hosts a happy hour reception for WALA members, volunteers, and friends. Join us for wine and cheese, networking and viewing art by some of Hamiltonian's artist fellows.
FREE for WALA Members, suggested donation of $10 for non-members.
About Hamiltonian's Current Exhibition
Hamiltonian Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Alex Kondner, Hamiltonian Fellows Ian MacLean Davis, Linda Hesh and Bryan Rojsuontikul, opening Saturday, February 20, 2010. Through the repetition of a particularly burdened word, object, material or image, each artist utilizes the visual residue of popular culture to address the roots of current sociopolitical mores.
In the series Evacuate, Alex Kondner trades in the seemingly nonessential physical attributes of traditional artist materials for disposable ones, such as play-sand and faux fur. Excerpts from historical speeches and 80's New Wave song lyrics mix to comprise the neon-colored sandy text in three paintings. In other paintings, the repeated word "evacuate" fills the surface of the canvas while screen-printed images of apocalyptic Japanese landscapes float on top. The contrasting elements of Kondner's pieces bring to mind the blur of today's frenetic visual culture.
Ian MacLean Davis appropriates imagery from mass-produced sources drawn from fine art and pop culture. Davis then distorts and layers these images to depict how technology and information saturation affect our memory and perception of gender. Two paintings, Golem and Lithe, bring to mind clichéd male and female bodies from popular media. Pours of syrupy paint are covered by overlapping threads of viscous enamel, masking an underlying image and portraying the murky lens with which the two sexes view each other.
In the Garden is the tale of original sin retold by Linda Hesh using apples laser-etched with the word "EVIL." Hesh places the glossy, imprinted apples in various scenarios to photograph, including EVIL on a shelf amongst marred Disney princess figurines, EVIL in an artist's studio, EVIL in proximity to a serpent, and the moment just before EVIL is bitten by a little girl. The EVIL apple installed in different settings conjures up the complexities of how we view gender. Hesh also presents the jarred EVIL apples freeze-dried or preserved in denatured alcohol as a metaphor for the upholding of ancient stereotypes of male and female roles. A time-lapsed video depicts the EVIL apple disintegrating, which represents the breakdown of gender disparity.
In Words in Space, Bryan Rojsuontikul creates minimalist works by spray painting text on canvases faced with tiny foam balls that make up the underlayment of linoleum tile. One work consists of the phrase "Art is Cancer" repeated on canvases differing only in their background colors. Below the canvases, 80 silver floor tiles reflect the phrase back at the viewer. Rojsuontikul relates this to the subtle evolution and growth of art, which he believes cannot be hindered or rationalized.
This exhibition will run from February 20, 2010 until March 20, 2010.
Hamiltonian Artists
Hamiltonian Gallery
1353 U Street, NW
Suite 101
Washington, DC 20009
202.332.1116
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