21/2/2012
Praxis. Asha Schechter
Artium, Vitoria-Gasteiz
MockUp. This exhibition consists of three parts: engraved glass sculptures framed in steel that refer to the commercial sign language of Los Angeles, large prints made of several photographs, and a newspaper. Together, these objects refer to the ephemeral and sometimes glorified lives of images as they enter our lives.
Curator: Rivet
Asha Schechter works predominantly with images that have become basic tools -such as the pencil in Photoshop or the objects in Google SketchUp. In his work, the emphasis lies on circulation, connection and deployment more so than on the visual reality of things.
This exhibition consists of three parts: engraved glass sculptures framed in steel that refer to the commercial sign language of Los Angeles, large prints made of several photographs, and a newspaper. Together, these objects refer to the ephemeral and sometimes glorified lives of images as they enter our lives.
The exhibition's title, MockUp, refers both to the interchangeability of the objects produced for Praxis and to the versatility of the images put into use by Schechter. After installation of the exhibition, Schechter will leave further instructions for the Artium team. This way, the layout of the exhibition will change throughout its duration and will test out different concatenations between the works.
This project initiated with a conversation between the artist and the curatorial office Rivet (Sarah Demeuse and Manuela Moscoso) after Schechter's exhibit at Loisaida (New York). The dialogue focused on the ontology of the contemporary image, and in particular about its status as equipment/tool. Since November 2011, Bilbao-based curator and critic Aimar Arriola has been an integral part in these conversations.
Asha Schechter, born in Portland and based in Los Angeles, holds an MFA from UCLA (2009) and a BFA from the CCAC in Oakland/San Francisco (2001). His work has been shown in solo and collective exhibitions in New York (Lauren Gitlen Gallery, Loisaida, Spencer Brownstone Gallery), Oakland (CCAC North Gallery), Los Angeles (Wight Gallery, Margo Leavin Gallery), Chicago (Satin Satan Gallery), and London (Brown Gallery). Schechter started The Vanity, an apartment-show initiative in Los Angeles.
The New York-based curatorial office Rivet was founded in 2010 by Manuela Moscoso and Sarah Demeuse. Rivet's projects integrate exhibition-making with research and publication projects. In their practice, the curators combine these three lines of work by focusing on a specific theme. Since 2010, the office has been researching connections between object-oriented philosophy (and Speculative Realism) and contemporary artistic and curatorial practice. They are currently working with artists such as Faivovich & Goldberg, Katja Mater, WeAreQQ and with art and research centers such as ICI (New York), Goethe-Institut New York, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (New York), Vogt Gallery (New York) and Tatjana Pieters Gallery (Belgium). More information at: www.rivet-rivet.net
Produced by ARTIUM (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain)
Departamento de Comunicación 945 209023 Anton Bilbao abilbao@artium.org - bgodino@artium.org
Artium - North Gallery
C/ Francia, nº 24 01002 Vitoria-Gasteiz
From Tuesday to Friday: 11.00 - 14.00 and 17.00 - 20.00
Saturdays and Sundays: 11.00 - 21.00
Mondays: closed (unless this coincides with a public holiday)
The ticket office will remain open until half an hour before closing time.
Entrance: 6 €