WHERE TO FROM THERE? Juried Annual 2014

WHERE TO FROM THERE?
Juried Annual 2014
Selections by Arnold J. Kemp
Painting and Printmaking Chair & Associate Professor
School of the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University

Exhibition Dates: November 26, 2013 - January 10, 2014
Artists' Reception: First Friday, December 6, 2013, 6-8pm
Artists' Talk: First Friday, January 3, 2014 6.30pm
The Juried Annual presents a survey of Bay Area art at the creative edge. The title of the exhibition – Where to from There? – references Gertrude Stein’s famous quote about Oakland, “There is no there there.” Inspired by this oft-quoted phrase and Stein’s playful writing; Kemp selected works for the exhibition that are often absurd, humorous and disorienting, while still providing very real visual experiences.

Kemp says of the work in the show, "The works in this exhibition have social relevance in that they suggest new readings or mis-readings of received ideas and function as signposts of emancipatory thought. As I looked for visual pleasure I also was aware of ethical and social concerns in the works that connect them to contemporary dialogues that are simultaneously aesthetic and political. This is the type of work that can set an agenda for building, through visual conversations, a foundation of examples that could be used by future practitioners of art that calls for non-normative examples of beauty and happiness.”

Featured Artists: Ted Andersen, Tamera Avery, Jamie Banes, Randy Beckelheimer, Timothy Bluitt, Dustin Campbell, Lizzy Cross, Harris David Harris, Ira J. Hawkins, Angela Hennessy, Carol Ladewig, Todd Lavine, Mat O'Hara, Tressa Pack, Anne Pinkowski, Johanna Poethig, Clare Rickman, Rtystk, Laurie Shapiro, Chris Thorson, Pep Ventosa

About the Juror: Arnold J. Kemp is an artist, writer and curator. An echo in his work across these disciplines is the presence of empathy and humor in conceptual strategies to address harder personal and collective realities. Kemp is the Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has deep roots in the Bay Area having worked as a curator at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from 1993-2003. Kemp’s work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Studio Museum in Harlem and Berkeley Art Museum. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2012. He is also the recipient of awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.

Where to from There? is on view November 26, 2013 - January 10, 2014.

An Artists' Reception will be held on First Friday, December 6, 2013, 6-8pm. The Reception will feature "Kairos Divination Services" performed by Johanna Poethig. Let Oras Ligaya read your fortune! Also, enjoy live performances from Graham Lustig's "The Nutcracker" by the Oakland Ballet Company. 6.30pm and 7.00pm.

An Artists' Talk will take place on Friday, January 3, 2014, 6.30pm. Join the artists as they discuss their work in the exhibition.

Exhibition and events are free to the public.