Want to live happily ever after? Enter a world of twisted fairy tales and tweaked nursery rhymes, complete with giant socks, mutant toys and walls carved with cartoon imagery as SPACES presents Selections III, on view June 27th through August 1st. Six contemporary artists from across the country convene in Cleveland to give this exhibition its offbeat edge. Join us for the opening reception on Friday, June 27th from 5-9pm. As always, the reception and exhibition are free and open to the public. Free parking is available on the Superior Viaduct.
Selections III is the latest in a series of exhibitions this season focusing on the work of emerging and experimenting artists from across the US. Selections exhibitions are chosen from artists' applications to the gallery by a committee of area curators and contemporary artists.
Using four-foot-long knitting needles and a sheep-sized ball of yarn, Pate Conaway (Chicago, IL) spends five weeks at SPACES knitting a pair of enormous socks fit for a giant. You'll have a chance to talk with the artist and check in on his progress throughout the exhibition, but don't miss the final closing reception on August 1st from 5-9pm, when Conaway will complete his project by spending the night inside his gigantic footwear. We hope his dreams are sweet, but Nora Herting (Chicago, IL) might not... her eerie photographs depict lost dreams and childhood nightmares, featuring floating teeth and shadowy forms that are anything but saccharine. Nonetheless, you'll be wide awake when you step into an eye-popping installation created by Bruce Tapola (Saint Paul, MN), who transforms the gallery into a faux log cabin, then covers the "wooden" walls with color-saturated paintings and drawings of hipsters, drips, and cartoon imagery. Meanwhile, stuffed animals spring to life and mingle with urban decay in the paintings and drawings of Amy Casey (Cleveland, OH). Personified bunnies, small birds and other imagery from Casey's childhood populate the industrial landscapes, neighborhood taverns and city streets she inhabits as an adult, expressing the artist's quiet appreciation for both. For another take on cuddly creatures, check out work by Billie Grace Lynn (Bellefonte, PA) , who creates mutant toys that wobble and squeak around the gallery, inviting interaction while commenting on everything from bio-engineering to stereotypes in the toy industry. Julia Morrisroe (Mount Pleasant, MI) also uses art to explore issues of consumerism and corporate ownership. By etching and embroidering cartoon characters and logos directly into the walls, Morrisroe critiques the passive acceptance of corporate branding imbedded into the framework of our lives.
SPECIAL
EVENTS
Sparx in the City Fri, June 20 and Fri, July 18,
11am - 9pm
SPACES will be open late as part of Sparx in the City, a series of street-level
cultural events created to highlight the talents of Northeast Ohio artists
as a tool for igniting economic vibrancy in downtown Cleveland. Live street
performers, sidewalk vendors, musicians, dancers and artist-painted fire
hydrants bring the city's hottest artists to downtown districts. This
event is free and open to the public. Closing Reception Fri, August 1st,
5-9 pm Check out a new SPACELab installation by Andrea Loefke, catch one
last look at the Selections III exhibition, and see the results of artist
Pate Conaway's five-week-long knitting performance. Admission, refreshments
and parking are free for this public event.
SPACES is a non-profit, artist-run, alternative space gallery. Since 1978, SPACES has given over 7,000 artists in the visual and performing arts an arena in which to present challenging new ideas. SPACES is located at 2220 Superior Viaduct on the West side of the Flats. Superior Viaduct runs parallel to the Detroit Superior Bridge at the intersection of West 25th Street.
