Aziz + Cucher
Olaf Otto Becker
Stan Gaz
Karen Gunderson
Christopher Harris
Mark Jaremko
Lori Nix
Arthur Tress
Stephen Wilkes
Frank Yamrus
Marc Yankus
Arcadia refers to the Greek province of the same name that dates to antiquity. It is a mountainous, remote region, which in many accounts was the birthplace of the Greek god, Zeus; his son, Hermes; and also the home of Pan and his court of dryads, nymphs, and other spirits of nature. Arcadia came to be synonymous with paradise, and the name often refers to a utopian vision of pastoralism and harmony with the natural world. Works by Aziz + Cucher, Olaf Otto Becker, Stan Gaz, Karen Gunderson, Christopher Harris, Mark Jaremko, Lori Nix, Arthur Tress, Stephen Wilkes, Frank Yamrus, and Marc Yankus.
ClampArt is pleased to present “Arcadia,” a group exhibition including
artworks by Aziz + Cucher, Olaf Otto Becker, Stan Gaz, Karen Gunderson,
Christopher Harris, Mark Jaremko, Lori Nix, Arthur Tress, Stephen Wilkes,
Frank Yamrus, and Marc Yankus.
Arcadia refers to the Greek province of the same name that dates to
antiquity. It is a mountainous, remote region, which in many accounts
was the birthplace of the Greek god, Zeus; his son, Hermes; and also the
home of Pan and his court of dryads, nymphs, and other spirits of nature.
Arcadia came to be synonymous with paradise, and the name often refers to
a utopian vision of pastoralism and harmony with the natural world.
In the dawn of the 21st century, amidst stock market crashes, Ponzi
schemes, and global warming, the notion of the possibility of a modern-day
Arcadia offers great solace, however unrealistic and out-of-reach.
Lori Nix’s photograph of an entirely false and fabricated paradise
constructed in the confines of her Brooklyn studio out of cheap and
artificial materials may be the most for which we can hope. Similarly,
Aziz + Cucher’s mammoth shots of natural imagery which are then fragmented
and distorted into fields of pixels by means of a series of digital filtering
programs are along similar conceptual lines. And Karen Gunderson’s large
black paintings, while based on actual landscapes she has personally seen,
ultimately depict what are simply fantasy realms in our collective imagination,
such as Shangri-La.
Artists Christopher Harris, Mark Jaremko, and Stephen Wilkes shoot images of
the modern landscape, which is punctuated by traces of man’s hand,
optimistically seeking shreds of halcyon experiences in this day and age.
Olaf Otto Becker, Stan Gaz, Frank Yamrus, and Marc Yankus, on the other hand,
search for whatever remaining unspoiled, untouched vestiges of nature still
remain--regions that appear yet uncorrupted by civilization (despite such
implausibility).
Image: Christopher Harris, Field in Rain, Pullman, Whitman County, August 1999
Artists' reception: Thursday, June 11, 2009 6 - 8p.m.
ClampArt
521-531 West 25th Street, Ground Floor, New York City
Summer hours: Tuesday - Friday,11.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Saturdays by appointment