12.04.2015

Anthony Bowers, MFA '14 at NAPOLEON Gallery in Phila.

Aim At What You See

A Photography & Printmaking Invitational Curated by the Members of NAPOLEON In Celebration of the Print Center’s Centennial

In this invitational exhibition, members of NAPOLEON selected works by artists whose work they value and admire, showcasing the diverse interests of the collective. This body of selected works incidentally features a subtext indicative of printmaking and photography: the indirect translation of an idea from the artist to the final product, from the real to the representation.
Opening Reception
First Friday, December 4th
6pm – 10pm
NAPOLEON
319 N 11th Street, 2L
Philadelphia, PA
Exhibition Dates: 12.4.2015 – 12.20.2015
Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 2pm – 6pm or by appointment
Artists:
Anthony Bowers
Nicole Campanale
Matt Colaizzo
Evan Paul English
CJ Harker
Kay Healy
Courtney Mandryk
Anne Schaefer
Kate VanVliet
Keith Yahrling
Top image: Anthony Bowers, Actual Nitty Gritty, acrylic transfer print on wood and screenprint acid etch on mirror mounted to wood, 2015. Bottom image: Kay Healy, Body Building, Screen printed, painted, and stuffed fabric, 2015.
NAPOLEON * 319 N 11th Street, 2L * Philadelphia, PA 19107 * www.napoleonnapoleon.com

Kathryn Lynch, MFA '91, Included in CITY LIVES


10.14.2015

Jackie Tileston, MFA Faculty, EVERYTHING IS EERYTHING at Pentimenti Gallery 10/29 - 11/28


Displaying
Super Altogether Gone, 2015, oil, oil enamel, pigment on linen, 72" x 60"



Pentimenti Gallery is excited to present
JACKIE TILESTONEverything is Everything, a solo exhibition at Pentimenti Gallery. 

 
This show includes paintings on linen, mixed media works on paper, and digital prints. Each piece acts as a gateway to spaces that are vast and all encompassing, while also feeling strangely close and familiar.
 
Calling on the interaction of contrasting visual elements and art historical references, Tileston has created an atmosphere that plays by its own rules, while paralleling our own in a heterotypic fashion. Ecosystems in themselves, they are alive with opaque mandala-like ornamentation, trails that surface and recede on vaporous threads, murky rifts, fields of nebulous color, and landmasses built of thick oil paint. Each element is actively engaged with the others, sometimes violently, other times harmoniously. These visual structures succeed in developing a synchronized habitat of “otherness”, a place that is collectively neither here nor there.
 
“Painting has an ability to open up alternative visual experiences that can specifically align us with internal spaces, altered states of consciousness, euphoria, complexity, and the unpresentable.  Abstraction, especially, is an expert intermediary, translating the nonverbal and not quite visible realities into perceivable, material form. Paintings can function as runners between realms, physical and philosophical both.” (Tileston)
 
Jackie Tileston received her BFA from Yale University, New Haven,CT, and her MFA in painting from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Tileston has had exhibitions at the Discovery Museum, Bridgeport,CT; Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, TX; Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Auburn, NY; Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack,NY; The Rutgers University, Camden, NJ; and more. Her work is in collections including: JP Morgan Chase; Museum of Fine Arts in Houston; Dallas Museum of Art; West Virginia University Art Museum, and more. She has been awarded the Joan Mitchell Foundation 2011 Painters and Sculptors Grant. The 2006 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for Painting as well as many others. Jackie Tileston is represented by Pentimenti Gallery in Philadelphia.
 
For all inquiries, please contact Pentimenti Gallery at mail@pentimenti.com or +1 215.625.9990.
GALLERY HOURSTuesday by appointment, Wednesday - Friday11 AM - 5 PM, SaturdayNoon - 5 PM.

10.05.2015

NYTimes Magazine Articles Features Cristina Tufino (MFA '12)



Cristina Tufino (MFA '12), will have work in Puerto Rican gallery's inaugural exhibition.

Full text of the article is available here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/t-magazine/puerto-rico-art-gallery-embajada.html?_r=1

10.01.2015

Interview with Jayson Musson MFA '11




Penn graduate Jayson Musson (MFA '11) was recently interviewd for NAT. BRUT.

Follow link for text:

http://www.natbrut.com/interview-jayson-musson-bum-in-suit-mistaken-for-important-man.html

9.24.2015

Tadashi Moriyama MFA '06 Sprawl at EBK Gallery









TADASHI MORIYAMA

"Sprawl”

Show runs thru Sep 28 - Oct 11, 2015
Opening Reception Saturday October 8, 6-8pm.

at EBK Gallery
218 Pearl Street
Hartford, CT 06103

Rachael Pease MFA '06 Metamorphosis at BEAUX-ARTS DES AMÉRIQUES

Metamorphosis

Her ability to convey both the vitality of growth and the natural cycle of decay has opened up a new window into the mystery and fascination that trees will always have. Sensitive to her place, her time, knowing that the world changes and hoping that trees will remain, she has taken to documenting specific trees.  She has taken the trouble to learn their history and documents their location as well as their age and their background.

Excerpt from catalog essay
by Adelheid M. Gealt

Director Emeritus of the Indiana University Art Museum

----------------------------------------

Oct 8 - Nov 14, 2015
Opening Reception Thursday October 8, 5-7pm. at BEAUX-ARTS DES AMÉRIQUES
3944 St-Denis, Montréal, QC  H2W2M2
www.beauxartsdesameriques.com
----------------------------------------

Rachael Pease
Web: http://rachaelpease.com

9.18.2015

Siyoung Lee (MFA '04) in Solo Exhibition at ART SPACE - ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE BUSAN, Korea




Siyoung Lee (MFA Alum) is exhibiting a new series of sculpture in his solo exhibition "Figuration". The Exhibition is on view until September 29th.

For more information about the show and about Siyoung's Work, please view

Figuration

On ViewSeptember 10 - September 29, 2015

Art SPACE - ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE BUSAN
612-825 Busan, South Korea
+82.51.746.0342

8.25.2015

Joan Oh (MFA '15) "Tutorial" Opening at Vox Populi Sept. 4

 Joan Oh, PRB Gong

Joan Oh is a Chicago native with a BFA in Photography at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, D.C. Subsequent to that, she attended the University of Pennsylvania and received her MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies. She currently lives and works in Philadelphia, PA.
Focusing on the spatial elements between video and installation, Oh’s practice analyzes tradition and unspoken codes of behavior; turning to the context of the ordinary to resurface artifacts of human experiences.
Joan Oh’s Tutorial presents an installation of trial and errors. HowTo.com undertakes the process of butchering a chicken and roasting it to eat, only using instructions found online. PBR Gong attempts to achieve positive karma through the strike of a Pabst Blue Ribbon, as it provides an interesting study on the autonomy of contemporary alternative coolness. Her videos appropriate the genre of guidance, commenting on an emergent culture while occupying the space in order to stage an intervention within it.

8.11.2015

DRIP DROP DRAG - Chiara No (MFA '15) in Two Person Show with Nick Mayer at Current Gallery, Baltimore, MD - Opens 8/15 6pm


DRIP DROP DRAG
“I identify my work as drawings, with reflections of painting. By transcoding painting's novelty and ability to act as communicative object, I create a platform to play out inherent relationships between hegemonic masculinity, sexual slang, simulation and sensibility.” - Nick
“My approach to materials and manipulations stems not from postmodern parody of minimalism but more as a compulsive and repetitive impregnation of loss through material, process and history.” - Chiara
We have entered a state of co-acting; Taking cues from each other by means of image, technique, vocabulary and historical reference. It’s a relationship where we memorialize each other's material and manipulative processes. In turn, making work that exists independently on top of one another as a man and a woman.
BIOs:
Chiara No was born in 1981 and raised in Maryland. She studied Art and Theory at the Glasgow School of Art in 2002-2003 and received a BA in Art History from Towson University in 2005. She has also received a Post-Baccalaureate in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011. She earned her MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2015. She currently lives in Philadelphia, PA.
Her work has been shown at Vox Populi, Space 1026, Little Berlin and The Ice Box, all in Philadelphia, PA; H18 Gallery, Brussels, Belgium; The Institute for American Art, Portland, ME; MINT, Columbus, OH; Johalla Projects, Chicago, IL; Comfort Station, Chicago, IL; Nudashank, Baltimore, MD and Current Gallery, Baltimore, MD.
Nick Mayer was born in 1982 and raised on Long Island. He attended Maryland Institute College of Art from 2000-2004 and received a BFA in Painting. In the summer of 2014, he attended Tyler School of Art’s Summer Painting Intensive under the mentorship of Bruce Pearson, Erica Prince, and Tim Belknap. This fall Nick is moving to New Haven to begin his studies in Painting and Printmaking at the Yale School of Art as a 2017 MFA candidate.
His work has been shown in artist-run-spaces nationally including: Butter Projects, Royal Oak, MI; Franklin St, Baltimore, MD; MINT, Columbus, OH; The Ice Box, Philadelphia, PA. 
www.nick-mayer.com

This show was organized with the help of Lease Agreement. Lease Agreement was a collaborative curatorial project by artists Adam Farcus and Allison Yasukawa. Set in the living room of the couple’s rental house, Lease Agreement continued in the tradition of apartment gallery exhibition spaces by exhibiting conceptually rigorous, engaging work within the context of a home.
ACRE (Artists’ Cooperative Residency and Exhibitions) is a volunteer-run non-profit based in Chicago devoted to employing various systems of support for emerging artists and to creating a generative community of cultural producers. ACRE investigates and institutes models designed to help artists develop, present, and discuss their practices by providing forums for idea exchange, interdisciplinary collaboration, and experimental projects. More information about ACRE can be found at www.acreresidency.org.
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7.12.2015

Jacob Rivkin ('13) Animation at the Experimental Films Screening at Animation Block Party

Jacob Rivkin ('13) animation flats and wagons included in the Experimental Films Screening at Animation Block Party

Animation Block Party is the premier animation festival of the East Coast. The 12th annual festival is July 30 — August 2, 2015.

Experimental Films, Graphic Design, and Music Videos
DATE: Sunday, August 2, 2015, 9PM
LOCATION: Peter Jay Sharp Building, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Rose Cinemas
SCREENING RUN TIME: 70min

5.13.2015

Mark Pease is showing in "New American Paintings: Midwest Edition” May 16 to August 23 at the Elmhurst Art Museum

For the first time in its 20 year history, the critically acclaimed publication, New American Paintings, which presents a juried exhibition-in-print with each issue, will jump from the page to the Museum walls. New American Paintings: The 2014 Midwest Edition features 40 artists selected by Elmhurst Art Museum Chief Curator, Staci Boris.

Donors’ Preview and Opening Reception
Friday, May 15, 2015 - 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Opening Weekend Public Program: Conversation with NAP Artists
Saturday, May 16, 2015 - 1:00pm to 2:45pm

More information:

5.12.2015

UPenn/Tyler Class of 2015 in group show - Opening Reception is May 14th 6-9pm


Is a group show of the 2015 MFA students from Tyler School of Art and the University of Pennsylvania @ Crane Arts. 1400 N. American St. Philadelphia, PA 

Opening Reception: May 14th 6-9 PM 

Exhibiting Artists: María G. Albornoz, Natessa Amin, Antony Anderson, Grimaldi Baez, Jennifer Berman, Martin Blake, Elizaveta Buzytsky, Kate Clements, Moira Connelly, Dominic D’Andrea, Lindsay Deifik, Alex Echevarria, Jorge Galvan, Charles Hall, Jacob C. Hammes, Ava Hassinger, Daniel Haun, Sascha Hughes-Caley, James Howzell, Ashley Kuhn, Katie Locke, Julia Mead, Chiara No, Jen Nugent, Megan Nolde, Joan Oh, Rebecca Ott, Haigen Pearson, Jing Qian, Nate Ricciuto, Derek Rigby, Lydia Rosenberg, Kasey Short, Julia Six, Michelle Wang, Comfort Wasikhongo, Wilmer Wilson, Seneca Weintraut, Dean Yasko, Annie Zverina 

NO MEAT IN TEAM is an exhibition featuring 40 artists graduating from the MFA programs at Tyler School of Art and the University of Pennsylvania in 2015. Organized and curated by a team of MFA candidates from both schools, this exhibition congregates two of Philadelphia’s most prominent academic programs in an effort to visualize the concerns common to both institutions. The title, No Meat in Team, plays with the collaborative nature of the project and the shared objective of both programs to come together in a productive way. This exhibition, initiated, organized and curated by students, signals a critical step made by both communities to begin actively addressing each other not simply as mutual residents of a city but as contemporaries working in the same field. 

Curated by: Natessa Amin, Filipe De Sousa, Andrew Negrey Joan Oh Gonzalo Reyes Rodriguez, and Michael Taylor 

Organized by: Martin Blake, Alex Echevarria, Jacob C Hammes, Joan Oh, Chiara No, and Annie Zverina

4.17.2015

Help the UPenn Graduating class of 2015 have a Philadelphia group show with Tyler School of Art


At the end of each academic year, MFA programs around the Nation have thesis shows presenting the achievements of their respective programs. Philadelphia boasts a strong history of Fine Arts education that has, for better or for worse, long been relatively insular between institutions. We, at PennDesign are excited to be given the opportunity to mount the first ever joint curated exhibition of graduating MFA candidates from UPenn and Tyler School of Art, organized and curated by a team of MFA candidates and Art history PhD candidates from both schools. 

Our intention is to contribute to the Philadelphia community through collaboration among programs. We hope, through our success of our first show, to be able pass the torch to our successors and have it become a tradition for years to come.

Because of the parallel pursuits of artmaking that both PennDesign and Tyler share in common, we have been asking ourselves the these questions: How do educational environments shape students into the artists they will become? How are artists able to translate the work they do into a life and career outside of the school where they receive so much support? Most importantly, we agree that visibility is vital for art forms of all kinds.

The exhibition is to be installed at the ICEBOX gallery in the beautiful and historic Crane Arts building. We, the graduating MFA students of 2015 are attempting to independently raise the money for our group show. This is where you, our friends and family, come in! We have pulled what money we have to fund the show but we still need $2500. This amount covers the rent for one month, building and paint supplies to construct walls in the gallery and for transportation costs. 


This is not a PennDesign funded event. It is funded by us, the graduating class of 2015 so any amount will be help, even if it is just $5. We need to raise the money by April 30th. You can donate money to our GoFundMe account. Just click on the link!

We thank you for taking the time to read our plea for help!

Artist Talk with Mohammadreza Mirzaei (MFA '14) at Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art

On the occasion of his recent exhibition at O Gallery, Mohammadreza Mirzaei will speak about his work with a focus on his recent published photobook and his two latest exhibitions at O Gallery and No.6 Gallery in Tehran. The two exhibitions with ironic titles "New Photographs" and "Newer Photographs" featured photographs that were shot in Iran and abroad, and mostly in public places.
During the artist talk, we will have a closer look at Mirzaei’s recent book "Here Comes the Sun" published by University of Pennsylvania Common Press. The book was designed by Italian graphic designer Filippo Nostri and contains twenty one photographs, a writing by Mirzaei and an essay written by curator Carlos Basualdo.

Mohammadreza Mirzaei (b.1986) is an Iranian photographer and writer based in Tehran. He is the founder and the editor of Dide Magazine, an online magazine dedicated to contemporary Iranian photography. Mirzaei was one of the jurors of International Photobook Award in 2011. He holds an MFA from University of Pennsylvania and he now teaches Photography and History of Art at the Professional Photography Institute in Tehran.

Monday, April 20th, 6 pm
The talk is held in Farsi.
Admission is free.

Sazmanab Center for Contemporary Art
No. 2, Roshan Manesh Alley, Khaghani St., Bour Bour St., South Mofatteh St., Haftetir Sq., Tehran, Iran

T : +98 (0) 21 888 66 345

4.13.2015

Maya Brym (MFA Alum) in group show in NYC - OPENS April 16 6-8pm


frosch&portmann is pleased to present “so different, so appealing”, a group exhibition  with Maya Brym, Paul Loughney, Vicki Sher and Sheri Warshauer.
so different, so appealing”—a title in loose reference to the 1956 pop art collage Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing? by British artist Richard Hamilton—brings together four artists whose works are distinctive but share a fascination with the domestic space. Working in different media such as collage, drawing and painting, the artists create a shifting landscape of domesticity. In exploring tensions between interiors and modern architecture, the exhibition offers different views into the private space by juxtaposing familiarity with the unknown.
 
With her paintings, Maya Brym creates still lifes of exterior and interior modern architecture. Her houses, set in front of dark mountain formations, are cut open and reveal shifting perceptions allowing a glimpse into alternate spaces. The artist grew up in a 1970s modern house which influenced her imagery; intrigued by the optimism of modern architecture and lifestyle, the artist is interested in transforming and re-contextualizing in a way that acknowledges flux and a space for the unknown.
 
Using negative space and shadows, Paul Loughney’s collages reconfigure the interior  and render different perspectives on presence. These new narratives lead to a sense of ambiguity and mystery in the nebulous realm between the familiar and unrecognizable forms. While Richard Hamilton’s collage focuses on the materials and symbols of comfort that define the era in which they were consumed, Loughney’s work displays the interior as a timeless entity. Devoid of bodies and objects, they encapsulate the many previous lives which inhabited them.
 
Just like breezing through lifestyle magazines, Sheri Warshauer's work takes a voyeuristic look at architecture and interior design of the tastefully affluent. Her paintings and collages poke fun at the efforts behind displaying wealth through art and furniture in modern homes. Warshauer uses layers of paint, colored pencil and cut paper images to bring her scenes to life. She puts the Modernist’s American Dream on display for all to see what can be attainable if one has the eye, money and taste to acquire it.
 
Vicki Sher is interested in the quiet moments of everyday life. Furniture, houseplants and bowls of fruit populate her images alongside whimsical lines and color, suggesting just enough of an interior to set the stage for contemplative wandering. Sher wants you to fill in the empty space, but also wants you to understand the value of limited information. Hereditary subjects are commonplace, crummy couches and generic plants, but each character gets to take center stage, every line is elevated to a solo note by the removal of surrounding noise.
 
April 16 - May 24, 2015
Hours: Wednesday - Sunday from noon - 6



 

4.02.2015

Jaime Treadwell (Former MFA) featured in HI-Fructose Magazine! OUT NOW


Hi-Fructose print Magazine featured an eight page spread of my work accompanied with an article in their recent issue coming out April 1st (tomorrow).  

Hi-Fructose, The New Contemporary Art Magazine Vol. 35
International publication found in all major bookstores.



Jaime Treadwell
Assistant Professor of Art
Delaware County Community College
610-325-2802
RM. 3280
Website: www.jaimetreadwell.com

Chiara No (MFA '15) - The Tenets of Crowning - OPENS 4/5 in Portland, Maine


Please join us Sunday, April 5th as we welcome Philadelphia-based Chiara No to the Institute for American Art in Portland, Maine. Chiara will be showing new work that continues the development of Crowning, a project combining ideas of and around effacement with Metal music subculture. The monumental works’ debut will be accompanied by light fare from noon to four.

www.chiara-no.com

Stephanie Elden (MFA '16) has her first solo show in Philadelphia - OPENS this Friday 4/3

Please join us for the Opening Reception of artist Stephanie Elden's solo exhibition, Neoplasm Ectopia, this Friday, April 3rd during Philadelphia's First Friday hours of 5pm-8pm at Bluestone Fine Art Gallery.


Links:
http://bluestone-gallery.com/exhibitions 
http://www.stephanieelden.com/
Or here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1559456174328586/

3.30.2015

Nsenga Knight (Former MFA) and X Collaborator: Taji Ra'oof Nahl X Speaks multimedia performance lecture -APRIL 2, 7:30PM

thursDAY, 2 april, 7:30PM
AT MUSSER AUDITORIUM, PFAHLER HALL, URSINUS COLLEGE                                                            E MAIN ST, COLLEGEVILLE, PA 19426

As part of the exhibition Under Color of Law, Berman Museum at Ursinus College presents X Speaks a collaborative multimedia performance lecture led by Nsenga Knight. Along with X Collaborator Taji Ra'oof NahlArtist Nsenga Knight will deliver excerpts from Malcolm X’s final speeches, letters, and interviews, interspersed with visuals and video clips that link the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s with current protest movements targeting unfair—and sometimes deadly—policing practices in minority communities. A former student of Terry Adkins (also included in Under Color of Law), Knight's X pays homage to his Blanche Bruce, a role played by Taji Ra'oof Nahl and many other collaborators throughout Adkins' career. The “X” in X Speaks represents Malcolm X and his legacy, but it is also a variable—an open space in which different people can make their voices heard.  Audience participation will be encouraged via Q&A, traditional call-and-response feedback and live streaming social media.  

Nsenga Knight earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree at the UPenn and a Bachelor of Arts in Film Production at Howard University. She has exhibited work at Project Rowhouses in Houston, Texas, the New Museum for Contemporary Art, PS1 MoMA, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art, Smack Mellon, and the Amistad Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania among others. Forthcoming exhibitions of Knight's work will be held at Gallery 100 in Durham North Carolina and the  Contemporary Art Museum in Houston. Knight has held artist residencies at Elsewhere Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Galveston Artist Residency in Galveston, Texas, Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia, Film/Video Arts Center in New York, and was a BCAT/ Rotunda Gallery Multimedia Artist in Resident in Brooklyn, NY. She was most recently a recipient of the Southern Constellations Fellowship in 2014, and was also awarded with the Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grant, Finishing Funds from the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association, and Brooklyn Arts Council grants.  

Philadelphia native, Taji  Ra'oof Nahl is an interdisciplinary self taught artist that works as "a vessel" thru medians of; photography, performance art, sculpture , painting, poetry & fashion. As creative director for Ra'oof Atelier,Taji spearheads & collaborates with artisans of vast disciplines to develop art with the purpose of evoking compassion, freedom, justice, modesty, activism.   
​ 
Under Color of Law 
Terry Adkins, Nsenga Knight, Hank Willis Thomas, Nari Ward, Carrie Mae Weems  
ON VIEW THROUGH 15 MAY
UNDER COLOR OF LAW brings together works by five acclaimed African American artists to catalyze important conversations about race, privilege, speech, and historical memory. 
Please visit the Berman Museum’s new website at www.ursinus.edu/berman for the most up-to-date schedule of public programs accompanying Under Color ofLaw. 
 
ABOVE:
image: Nsenga Knight and X Collaborators Cristal Chanelle Truscott and Amir Tariq McMillan, Texas A&M Prairieview University, X Speaks: The Oppressed Masses of the World Cry Out for Justice Against the Common Oppressor, 2015

The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College
601 East Main Street 
Collegeville, PA 19426 
610 409 3500
www.ursinus.edu/berman

Open hours:
TuesdayFriday, 10–4 
Saturday & Sunday, 12–4 
Closed Monday

3.14.2015

Ernel M Martinez, Co-founder of Amber Art & Design, performing at the PMA

Philadelphia Museum of Art

 

 

March 2015

 

 

 

Wednesday, March 25

 

Poets, performers, and scholars guide visitors through an evening inspired by Represent: 200 years of African American Art:

 

 

Push/Pull: Precession of Healing with Amber Arts Collective:  A traveling, multi-media piece inspired by the MOVE bombing of 1985. As visitors process throughout the galleries, they will encounter multiple site-specific performances that explore this historic event's impact on the cultural makeup of Philadelphia. 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Begins in Gallery 239

Tracie Morris: Tracie Morris is a self-identified sound poet that ingeniously mixes narrative and music to create a singular style of performance. She and her trio host an evening of original works. 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., Gallery 161

Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Help improve how African American artists are represented online. Learn how to create and edit information about these artists on Wikipedia. New and experienced editors are welcome; laptops and power cords are encouraged.  Click here to register.  5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., seminar room

Admission every Wednesday night is Pay What You Wish.

 

 

 


Mohammadreza Mirzaei (MFA '14) opens solo show "Newer Photographs" at O Gallery in Tehran

                                     

In Mohammadreza Mirzaei’s photographs, there is always a confrontation between “abstraction” and “pragmatism,” and of course between “entity” and “null” which he considers the essential traits of photography. In his upcoming exhibition, Newer Photographs, which opens three weeks after the publication of his new book in the US, by eliminating words, Mirzaei, once again invites the audience to view photographs that might very well be un-paraphrase-able.

Ordinary and routine matters are overlooked due to their continuous presence and overfamiliarity, and are at times promptly and at other times very hastily and without us noticing, replaced by alternatives. They are like a silent background to our life and existence. However in Mirzaei’s photographs, these very things look original and artificial as though they are a reflection of other things.

At the first encounter with his photographs, we are rarely confronted by narratives or an effort to create meaning, but a short while later, similarities and repetitions of certain elements, make us wonder about the possibility of the existence of conceptual and validity relations. Although some of his abstract images are eye catching, it is obvious that the photographer is not just after capturing the best form of the subject, and perhaps the forms are mostly designed to give rise to question rather than to discover and manifest beauty. Sometimes he is too close to the subject, or has exposed it to so much light that we can hardly say what that thing really is. And here, the title of the exhibition, the only descriptive words besides the works, may appear more important. But, he dawdles, as his photos do, and chooses the title, Newer Photographs for this exhibition, which especially after his previous exhibition New Photographs, seems like an oblique and absurd title.

These photographs, regardless of their subject and from whatever aspect “newer;” placed in this exhibition, alongside one another, form an object so that in its encountering, the audience is faced with numerous questions and contradictions. Perhaps an experiment similar to existence in today’s world filled with contradictions.


Mohammadreza Mirzaei
Newer Photographs 
March 6 - 16. 2015
Opening Preview: March 6th, 4-9 pm

O Gallery
46 Khosrow Alley,  Villa St., 
1698814315 Tehran
Iran

Hours: Mon - Thu 12 - 8 pm 
Fri 4 - 9 pm
Closed on Saturdays

T (+9821) 88 92 20 28