aljira a center for contemporary artaljira a center for contemporary art
exhibitions
exhibitions homepast exhibitions



 


September 6th, 2012 - December 22nd, 2012
superHUMAN

Curated by Jorge Rojas
Co-curated by David Hawkins

Speculative art has taken a number of shapes, from classic Greek myths to graphic novels, from sci-fi literature to film. The fantastic qualities of this work have made it extraordinarily popular among audiences, but it also has provided artists with an important means for exploring serious cultural issues. This exhibition features 14 artists who pull freely from speculative models, working in various media to shape modern hybrid styles.

Combining the mythical and fantastic, these artists compel us to look beyond contemporary notions of race, gender, sexuality, cultural rituals, and even art itself. Like the half-human subjects that have inspired them, these new speculative art forms may well point the way to the future of art and culture. They resist easy categories, thwart the boundaries between high and low, and present a new vision of a shared superhuman experience.

Artists
Blanka Amezkua, Edgar Arceneaux, Kevin Darmanie, Kurt Forman, Chitra Ganesh,
Fay Ku, Shaun El C. Leonardo, Kerry James Marshall, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, Dulce Pinzón, William Pope.L, Robert Pruitt, Xaviera Simmons, Saya Woolfalk

Exhibition catalog - available for purchase at Aljira.

superHUMAN originated at and is sponsored in part by Central Utah Art Center (CUAC).




ALSO ON VIEW:

Wherein Fury Takes Flight…"the time of our silence is over"
Performance artist, Alyson Pou

The installation Wherein' Fury Takes Flight…“the time of our silence is over” by Alyson Pou consists of a cluster of nine long dark dresses hovering in the center of the gallery, their full and billowing skirts collide as they madly spin frozen in their attempt to reach the ceiling. A warren of life-size white rabbits are scattered around the outer edges of the scene gazing transfixed upon the scene through human-like eyes.

Through a collage of dreams, recounted stories, objects, movement… Alyson Pou peels and reveals the layers of clothing that form our identity. Her [installations] speak directly to the intellect and the intuition. Weaving together the personal and the social, Pou's work evokes emotionally charged archetypes. With a background in modern dance, visual art and writing her work wonderfully combines movement, text, and objects.


Images at Left: (Top) William Pope.L, The Great White Way, 22 miles, 9 years, 1 street (Whitney version #2), 2001, video, 6:35 minutes. Courtesy of the artist and Mitchell-Innes& Nash. Photo: Lydia Grey (Bottom) Still from a promotion video produced by Chuck Schultz for Alyson Pou's installation, WHEREIN FURY TAKES FLIGHT…“the time of our silence is over”.

Opening Reception:
Thursday, September 6, 2012, 6 - 9 PM

     
     
   





    © Aljira, Inc 2011.