(In)Security. A mid-career retrospective. For almost a dozen years Pred has gathered confiscated items-lighters, corkscrews, sewing scissors, matchboxes and more-from security checkpoints at San Francisco International Airport, a collection that visually expresses how many of our everyday routines have been disrupted since September 11, 2001.
The Natalie and James Thompson Gallery is delighted to present an exhibition of recent work by Swedish-American conceptual artist Michele Pred. For almost a dozen years Pred has gathered confiscated items—lighters, corkscrews, sewing scissors, matchboxes and more—from security checkpoints at San Francisco International Airport, a collection that visually expresses how many of our everyday routines have been disrupted since September 11, 2001.
In this exhibition she will display a range of work, most of which are constructed from these confiscated items, as she explores how the objects that we use and lose can provide an anthropological perspective on this period of history, and how confrontations between individuals and the state affect each of us on a daily basis. Seeing these ordinary objects—most of them so seemingly harmless—as imbued with the potential for danger, may elicit both laughter and anger. The complexity of our responses echoes the objects themselves: each small tool, like each of us, bears some of the weight of a changed world.
Michele Pred received her BFA from California College of the Arts, where she is now Adjunct Professor. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and is in the permanent collection of the 21st Century Museum, The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, the Contemporary Museum in Honolulu, and the Di Rosa Preserve in Napa, as well as in numerous corporate and private collections. She is represented by the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York and the Jack Fischer Gallery in San Francisco.
Reception: Tuesday, Nov. 13, 6 - 7:30pm
Artist Lecture: Tuesday, Nov. 13, 5 - 6 pm.
Natalie & James Thompson Gallery
1 Washington Square, Art Building, San Jose State University (Near 9th/ San Carlos)
Gallery hours: Monday through Friday: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Tuesday: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Free Admission