Semi-Final Frontiers and Guantanamo Bay, Artist Talk

Saturday, March 14th: Talk with the Artists

Join Civilian Art Projects and artists

Seth Adelsberger and Christopher Sims
for the closing of Semi-Final Frontiers and Guantanamo Bay.

Seth Adelsberger 4:00 pm
Christopher Sims 4:45 pm
Amanda Maddox, co-curator of the Guantanamo Bay exhibition, will join the Q&A with Christopher Sims.

View two unique and important exhibitions by emerging contemporary artists Seth Adelsberger (Baltimore, MD) and Christopher Sims (Durham, NC) on view until March 14th. Gallery hours: Wednesday through Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. or by appointment.

Free
Refreshments provided
Seating limited: RSVP to info[at]civilianartprojects[dot]com

Civilian Art Projects
406 7th Street NW, Third Floor
Washington, DC 20004
202.347.0022

http://civilianartprojects.com/

SETH ADELSBERGER

February 13 - March 14, 2009

Semi-Final Frontiers

at Civilian Art Projects
Opening Reception: Feb. 13, 2009

A new show opened tonight at Civilian Art Projects that combines seemingly disparate references. A sublime site-specific mural combines visual ingredients inspired by everyday occurrences and memory. Seth Adelsberger creates complex, unconventional paintings of wild, exotic color using symbols that reference mysticism and video games. Seth takes us inward into a world of color, optics and insights. The question is, where are we going in this mind game?

"The new work is where geometric architecture builds psychological masks and futuristic spaces. Elementary shapes and electric colors vibrate in a structured game of optical pinball.” - Adelsberger

Also on view:

Guantanamo Bay - Photographs by Christopher Sims
that depict everyday life at the naval base and joint detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Curated by Amanda Maddox & Jayme McLellan.

Daylight Magazine podcast
Christopher Sims, Guantanamo Bay portfolio
with music courtesy of The Freesound Project


Civilian Art Projects
406 7th Street NW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC
(202) 347-0022

New work by emerging American artists Seth Adelsberger (Baltimore, MD) and Christopher Sims (Durham, NC)

February 13 - March 14, 2009

OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, February 13, 2009
7pm to 9pm


SETH ADELSBERGER: Semi-Final Frontiers

In his first solo exhibition with Civilian, Seth Adelsberger exhibits new paintings and a site-specific mural. Combining visual ingredients inspired by everyday occurrences and memory, Adelsberger creates complex, unconventional paintings of wild, exotic color. In the words of the artist, the new work "is where geometric architecture builds psychological masks and futuristic spaces. Elementary shapes and electric colors vibrate in a structured game of optical pinball." His work recreates the language of landscape inspired painting and takes it to another level, repeating symbols and shapes much like those found in the multi-colored vector graphics of 1980's video games. This personal glossary combines graffiti and nostalgic images to create a visual hypnotic language.

Guantánamo Bay: Photographs by CHRISTOPHER SIMS
Curated by Amanda Maddox & Jayme McLellan



Civilian presents photographs by Christopher Sims depicting everyday life at the naval base and joint detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It took Sims nearly three years to gain access to the base, which can be visited by civilians determined and patient enough to find the right channels to gain entry. A condition of his visit was that he was only permitted to shoot digital images, not negative film. Upon leaving the base, his work was inspected by military personnel and, with the exception of a few images, was deemed acceptable.

Shot in 2006, the images will be on view in the United States for the first time in this exhibition at Civilian. Unpopulated and lacking an overt political message, this work reveals a much-talked-about (but rarely seen) landscape as an outpost of the American commonplace: fast food restaurants and parking lots, prison cells, playgrounds, and cul-de-sacs. The subtle strength and candor of this work provides a counterpoint to passionate rhetoric about this infamous military base, yet adds its voice to the on-going debate about American values in a time of war and transition.

Civilian Art Projects
406 7th Street NW, Third Floor
Washington DC
(202) 347-0022