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17/7/2013

Art Baja Tijuana

Casa GS, Tijuana

Steve Turner Contemporary is pleased to present ART BAJA TIJUANA (ABTJ), the gallery’s second pop-up exhibition in Mexico. Art Baja Tijuana will highlight the innovative architectural projects that are changing the face of Tijuana while introducing eight cutting edge international artists. ABTJ features the architecture of Jorge Gracia (Tijuana) and artwork by Tyler Adams (Los Angeles); Aaron Aujla (New York); Petra Cortright (Los Angeles); Katherine Davis (Los Angeles); PANCA (Tijuana); Pablo Rasgado (Mexico City); Timur (Los Angeles) and Fabiola Torres-Alzaga (Mexico City). The exhibition will be held in Casa GS, a newly built house designed by Gracia.

Casa GS is a contemporary, light-filled home that was built on a very small budget utilizing accessible materials including concrete, glass, steel, drywall and wood. Gracia believes that architectural design is enhanced when architects work closely with builders and craftsmen. In that spirit, he manages every aspect of his projects until the last detail is finished including custom designed furniture. He also uses reclaimed materials from his past projects, reusing them in new construction. An element that he always employs is one that is ubiquitous in Mexico: artisanal labor. He believes that it translates into a quality that makes each project distinct, and the concepts of translation and transformation are central to ABTJ.

With his use of easily accessible materials, Gracia has something in common with several of the artists in ABTJ. Pablo Rasgado, for example, often uses materials that he extracts from public spaces. In past works he has utilized sections of painted walls from busy city streets, remnants of drywall from temporary exhibitions at museums and common books that he has found within a city. In preparation for ABTJ, he will be the second resident of Se Renta and will live in Tijuana to create works with materials extracted from the local urban landscape. For ABTJ, he will transform a downtown building into a monumental work of minimalist sculpture. Using a wide array of source materials Rasgado has an uncanny knack for making abstract works of poetic beauty that have social, political or art historical relevance. Se Renta is an artist residency program of the Tijuana-based non-profit organization Laboratory of Contemporary Art Agents. Established and directed by Illya Haro in 2012, Laboratory supports artistic and cultural projects that inspire critical dialogue relating to the production of contemporary art.

Tyler Adams will present a group of kinetic sound installations that utilize commonplace building materials and familiar sonic textures. In past works, he has used ducts, speakers and fans to create sounds reminiscent of heartbeats, breaths, shakes and murmurs. Aaron Aujla will present the abstract paintings that he creates from used roofing shingles. Throughout his practice, Aujla translates familiar domestic elements into minimal abstractions that are rich with history and meaning. PANCA, a Tijuana-based street artist, will create a mural on a temporary plywood wall inside Casa GS as well as paintings on scrap wood which she found on the property. Street art fits into ABTJ’s spirit of using what is accessible, and for PANCA, it is the public wall.

Timur will present a musical performance (Friday July 19 at 9 pm) that was commissioned expressly for Art Baja Tijuana and sponsored by Bustamante Realty Group. It will consist of new songs, fictional and real conversations and improvisation inspired by the other artists in ABTJ. Timur will be accompanied by his two Los Angeles-based collaborators, Andrew Lessman on drums and Alex Noice on electric guitar. All of the events on Friday July 19, including a wine tasting featuring local vineyards, will be co-hosted by the Tijuana-based creative firm GastroMarketing.

Finally, Petra Cortright will present new digital paintings on aluminum; Fabiola Torres-Alzaga will show new photographs that highlight the hand of a magician performing a magic trick; and Katherine Davis will show abstract paintings that represent mathematical concepts. It is the notion of the artist’s hand that makes these artists relevant to the exhibition. Whether through the use of a computer application, a camera, or a rag to apply paint, these artists transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.

On Saturday, July 20 at 7pm, Steve Turner will present a brief talk on Reuben the Guide, an African American tour guide who was Tijuana’s most famous personality between 1893 and 1903. Sarah Rara will discuss a new 16mm film that she is making which was inspired by Reuben. Each frame of the film is exposed both in San Diego and Tijuana. The film uses as reference points images of late nineteenth century American tourists heading to Mexico, in particular a bizarre double-exposure of a tour group led by Reuben the Guide.

In connection with ABTJ, there will be two different bus tours of Tijuana. One features contemporary architecture and the other features underground Tijuana.

For more information, please contact Steve Turner or Montse Leon at (323) 931-3721.
montse@steveturnercontemporary.com or steve@steveturnercontemporary.com

A VALID U.S. PASSPORT IS REQUIRED TO RE-ENTER THE UNITED STATES.

CASA GS
Avenida de las Flores & Circuito de la Rosa No. 6071
Hacienda Agua Caliente - Tijuana, Baja California, MEXICO
HOURS:
*THURSDAY, JULY 18: 10 PM - 12 AM
*(FRIDAY, JULY 19: 2PM - 12 AM
*SATURDAY, JULY 20: 2PM - 12 AM
(OR JOIN THE ARCHITECTURAL/ CULINARY TOUR
OR THE TJ STREET ART TOUR WITH TURISTA LIBRE )
*SUNDAY, JULY 21: 11 AM - 4 PM

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