13 Sept 2008 to 26 July 2009
Hours : Saturday & Sunday 12 � 6pm and by appt
HVCCA, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art
1701 Main Street
PO Box 209
Peekskill, NY
NY 10566
New York
North America
p: 914.788.0100
m:
f: 914.788.4531
w: www.hvcca.org
Grimanesa Amor�s: Rootless Algas Music by: Hilmar �rn Hilmarson Lighting by: Grimanesa Amor�s and Steve Dubay
ORIGINS September 13th 2008- July 26th 2009 Opening September 13th & 14th, 2008 Artist Reception Sunday September 14th at 4:00pm
The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art is pleased to announce the fall exhibition opening of Origins on Saturday September 13th, 2008 with a reception on Sunday September 14th at 4:00pm. Origins will occupy the 10,000 square-foot main gallery space at the HVCCA with several of the participating artists producing projects specifically for the exhibition. On view through Sunday July 26th, 2009.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION The artists in Origins approach the use of primal materials such as clay, fiber, wood, aluminum, stone, and soil, as mediums that have arrived in the present day with a tremendous amount of tradition attached to them. Handcrafted qualities and personal sensibilities are emphasized as well as work that addresses the value and beauty of our diverse ecology and its fragility. There is a reverential simplicity to the use of some materials as with artists such as Andre, Heizer, Long, Laib, and Schneider, where there is little or no embellishment of stone, wood etc. There is also a focus on the human figure as a locus of expressive possibilities: Bhabha, Bourgeois, Landau, Mendieta, Silver, Smith and others. Whether metaphorically presented or disfigured, shrouded, or animated, the body is offered as a spiritual totem, a monument to corporeal identity.
Participating Artists: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Carl Andre, Huma Bhabha, Ashley Bickerton, Bruce Bickford, Louise Bourgeois, Berlinde de Bruyckere, Nathalie Djurberg, Ann Hamilton, Michael Heizer, Zhang Huan, Anselm Kiefer, Brian Knep, Danielle Kraay, Wolfgang Laib, Sigalit Landau, Richard Long, Ana Mendieta, Cady Noland, Giuseppe Penone, Rona Pondick, Martin Puryear, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Gregor Schneider, Daniel Silver, Kiki Smith, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Rebecca Warren, Franz West, Daisy Youngblood
This exhibition is in association with the Westchester Arts Council's county-wide fall exhibition, All Fired Up, celebrating clay-based artwork
The Peekskill Project, 2008 HVCCA announces 4th annual public arts festival "The Peekskill Project"
Opening weekend: Saturday and Sunday September 13th-14th, 2008
Contemporary art can challenge, inspire and inform. It shouldn�t be confined to just museums and galleries, By bringing art to where the people live their daily lives, we hope to connect with as wide an audience as possible�
Livia Straus, President and co-founder of the Hudson Valley Center of Contemporary Art.
Peekskill NY - The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art will launch the 4th annual Peekskill Project, a citywide site-specific exhibition of cutting-edge contemporary art, beginning the weekend of September 13 - 14, 2008 from 12-6pm. Selected works will be on display weekends until November 23, 2008. The public arts festival presents a wide variety of painting, sculpture, photography, installations, video and performance art by national and international artists selected by a committee of renowned curators.
This year's edition will feature fifty-five artists who concentrate on the dualistic nature of our relationship to the earth. This exhibition will focus on indoor and outdoor site-specific works which use environmental and organic based materials in order to communicate this tumultuous marriage between humans and their habitat. Using Peekskill as a stage, artwork will be sited throughout the city. The project utilizes Peekskill's train station and waterfronts, Annsville Park, St. Mary's Cathedral, and Peekskill's historic commercial district, as well as the HVCCA.
The Peekskill Project has become an anticipated annual event, attracting thousands of visitors each year as it offers children and adults alike the opportunity to explore Peekskill's social, cultural and geographic history. The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art launched the project with the goal of bringing contemporary art out of the museum and into the community. "Contemporary art can challenge, inspire and inform. It shouldn't be confined to just museums and galleries. By bringing art to where the people live their daily lives, we hope to connect with as wide an audience as possible." (Livia Straus, President and co-founder of the Hudson Valley Center of Contemporary Art.)
The Peekskill Project is open to the public, free of charge, beginning the weekend of September 13-14 with selected artwork on display through November 23. Free trolley service will be provided by the City of Peekskill for the duration of the opening weekend to and from exhibition sites. Festival maps will be available at numerous locations.
The Peekskill Project was made possible with the support of the Westchester Arts Council. Additional support from the City of Peekskill, Ginsburg Development Corporation, Peekskill Business Improvement District, Peekskill Arts Council, local residents and businesses throughout the city. Special thanks to all the participating artists and curators.
2008 Participating Artists: Emil Alzamora, Grimanesa Amor�s, Daniel Aquino, Brendan Balleng�e, Karen Beall, Al Bersch & Leslie Grant, Gail Biederman, Jo Ann Brody, Ryan Brown, Charles Butterly, Stefano Cagol, Alana Celii, Zachary Clement, Andrea Cote, Dana DeVito, Lorenz Estermann, Deborah Fisher, Marcy B. Freedman, Asha Ganpat, Johannes Girardoni, Joan Harmon, Alexander Harrington & Leslie Grant, Sarah Haviland, Vandana Jain, Carla Rae Johnson, keegan & nick, Yael Kanarek, Christopher Lee Kennedy, Grace Knowlton, Miwa Koizumi, Cal Lane, Liz Magic Laser, Marya Kazoun, Stephanie Lempert, Eva Mantell, Maslen/Mehra, Almagul Menlibayeva, Tony Moore, Joel Morrison, Angelo Musco, Michael Natiello, Pamela Phatismo Sunstrum, Michael Peterson & Jade Townsend , Carolyn Salas & Adam Parker Smith, Rosalind Schneider, Ryan Schroeder, Gregg Segal, Christine Tarkowski, James Tatum, The Artist's Collective, Ted Victoria, Aki Warren, Andrew Wilkinson, Grant Willing, Brian Wondergem, and Meng Yeh.
2008 Participating Curators: Ombretta Agro'Andruff, Evonne M. Davis and Emma Wilcox from Gallery Aferro, Michael Foley for Foley Gallery, Priska Juschka from Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, Kelly Lindner from George Adams Gallery , Michael Natiello from Collaborative Concepts, Joyce Manalo of ArtForward, Thomas Werner from Parsons The New School of Design, and Livia Straus from the HVCCA.
The Peekskill Project 08 was organized in association with the fifth annual Hudson Ferry-Go-Round, linking towns along the Hudson River with continuous ferries on September 14, 2008. For further details please see: www.ferrygoround.com.
Richard Dupont: Between Stations Sculpture Installation September 13th - December 21st, 2008 Opening September 13th & 14th, 2008 Artist Reception Sunday September 14th at 4:00pm
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION Dupon't new installation "Between Stations" at HVCCA will consist of two new large scale figurative sculptures situated contextually within the space of the museum, and intended to engage the viewer in a �conversation� that is both spatial and philosophical. Originating from a laser scan of Dupont�s own body, these sculptural doppelgangers are adulterated versions of his original form, and have been distorted using digital technology before being cast in resin and hand finished. Standing just over life size and occupying ambulatory space, these static �performers� reveal themselves differently from various vantage points, alternatively massive and dematerializing, engaging the movement of the viewer. Raising philosophical questions about the humanist tradition in the age of body mapping and surveillance, the works are also self reflexive meditations on sculptural forms from the ancient past to the distant future.
ABOUT THE ARTIST Richard Dupont is a sculptor and installation artist whose works have been acquired by numerous public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the New York Public Library. He recently presented a major public art project at Lever House in New York City. The installation at Lever House and the artist�s work of the past five years are the subjects of a new monograph published by Charta and to be released this Fall. In addition, Dupont will be exhibiting a new installation at Carolina Nitsch Project Room in November. Born, lives and works in New York City. Dupont studied at Princeton University (1987 � 1991).
On view through December 21st, 2008
Grimanesa Amor�s: Rootless Algas Multimedia Installation September 13th - December 21st, 2008 Opening September 13 - 14th, 2008 Artist Reception Sunday September 14th at 4:00pm
ARTIST STATEMENT In this work I am exploring my experience on Flatey, an island in Breidafj�rdur Bay off the coast of Iceland. I had intended to observe and make sketches of the area's abundant birds, such as Arctic Terns, Red-throated Divers and Black Guillemots, but I learned upon my arrival that two days earlier the birds had migrated to a warmer climate. When my husband, my daughter Shammiel and I arrived, we greatly increased the population of the remote island. Under these circumstances, I found that I was able only to make direct observations with what there was around me. A key part of this trip for all of us was trying to overcome our feelings of isolation and foreignness by exploring the island�s natural habitat.
The rocks on the shores of Flatey were covered with thick and textured accumulations of a type of algae that I had never seen before. The colors and the immensity of these piles were overwhelming. They were aesthetically beautiful, yet I couldn�t explore the shores nor go swimming without stepping in and around the vegetation. This limitation enhanced my internal sensation of being confined; yet, like the algae, I cannot be connected to any one place. Algae have holdfasts that serve as temporary anchors but are not necessary for attaining nutrients. It is common for algae to hold on to each other like refugees, to facilitate ocean travel. My fascination with the algae increased as I also identified with their lack of roots.
For this installation, Rootless Algas, large multi-colored algae have been made by casting translucent abaca sheets into molds that are then hung from ceiling to floor. The work intends to express certain feelings of isolation and attempts to convey characteristics of the actual experience, rather than explorations or descriptions. I have removed the plants from their original context and reinvented them to highlight the dynamic between nature and human beings. The configurations of the area require people to experience their surroundings from multiple viewpoints. That spatial virtuality is augmented with a video projection and soundtrack by Icelandic composer Hilmar �rn Hilmarsson. In addition, viewers will have to find and create their own space and in doing so they will recreate on a small scale the limitless scope of the natural world.
ABOUT THE ARTIST Grimanesa Amor�s is an interdisciplinary artist with diverse interests in the fields of social history, scientific research and critical theory, which have greatly influenced her work. She often makes use of sculpture, video, lighting and sound to create works that illuminate our notions of personal identity and community. Amor�s utilizes her art as an agent for empowerment to involve viewers from all different backgrounds and communities. Born in Lima. Lives and works in New York City and Peru. Amor�s studied at The Art Students League (1984�1988) and Private Ateliers in Lima, Peru (1981�1983).
P�lina J�nsd�ttir: The Sea Mare - Tableaux Vivant Nouveau Special Performance Sunday September 14th, 2008 at 4:30pm
ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE On May 27th of 2008, the celebrated beastologist, Professor Rosengarten, found a LIVING ancient sea beast on the banks of the Hudson River at Peekskill, New York. After thorough examination of the beast, experts believe it to be the very last example of a rare species known as Sea Mare--which was thought to have become extinct somewhere towards the end of the Pagan Era. Before washing ashore on the Hudson, Rosengarten's living Sea Mare most certainly traveled 2.744 miles across the Atlantic from its country of origin: Iceland. The beast is little by little recovering from the exhaustion caused by its long and difficult journey. Preliminary evidence shows that this Sea Mare is more than a thousand years old; its survival is most likely due to hibernation in the Icelandic glacier of Sn�fellsnes, as the beast most likely was a victim of hypothermia since the time of the Little Ice Age in the years 1300 - 1850 A.D. Reliable sources report that the Sea Mare occasionally communicates with language, most likely old Icelandic.
The phenomenal living Seamare will have its first public appearance at the HVCCA on Sunday September 14th, 2008 at 4:30pm. On that occasion, Professor Rosengarten will give a lecture on his remarkable new discovery. The event will be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel. Caution: Even though Sea Mare is under strict supervision, and is still undergoing a rigorous adjustment program, sudden and unpredictable bestial behavior may occur for which HVCCA cannot be held responsible.
ABOUT THE ARTIST P�lina J�nsd�ttir began her performance career at the early age of 9 at the National Theater in Reykjavik and throughout the years her work has pushed the boundaries of artistic disciplines creating inventive progressive theatre.
A post-graduate of the Conservatoire National Superieure de Musique et de Danse de Lyon and a graduate from the The Drama Academy of Iceland. P�l�na also studied at the Icelandic Ballet Institute, The Reykjavik School of Singing and The University of Iceland, for Philosophy and Literature. She speaks Icelandic, English, Danish and French.
Palina�s theatre performance credits include: Still Life with Commentator for the Next Wave Festival at BAM directed by Ibrahim Quraishi, The Secret Face, an art house solo performance by Elisabet Jokulsdottir, directed by Steinunn Knutsdottir at the Here Arts Center, N.Y, Vienna�s Woman Art�s Festival, and at Idno Theatre and Silfurtungli�, Reykjavik; Landscapes with Argonauts for Compagnie Faim de Siecle, directed by Ibrahim Quraishi; Miss J
