High above the glittering city scape of Miami, where commercial galleries, collectors, and art lovers gather during the Art Basel, Miami Beach Fair, is “Ivory Tower,” the inaugural exhibit of Lauren Gentile’s exciting new Washington, D.C. venture, Contemporary Wing, www.contemporarywing.com. The exhibit, which is co-curated by Gentile and Ginger Shulick, founder of Big Deal Arts, showcases internationally-recognized and emerging video and projection artists.
The exhibition’s title, “Ivory Tower,” evokes its elevated location on the 50th floor of the Marquis Residences, at 1100 Biscayne Blvd, and refers to a lofty space removed from the commercial hustle and bustle. The exhibition will be announced to the city of Miami with a 700 foot projection on the exterior of the Marquis building of original artwork by Tiffany Carbonneau, which will be visible from I-95 North and South bound, I-395, I-195, and the Venetian Causeway.
Artist Sean Capone will premiere, “High Rise,” a floor-to-ceiling projection with accompanying videos based on J.D. Ballard’s novel of the same name. Filmed over the course of two years as a luxury residential building is erected in Brooklyn, Capone’s “High Rise” evokes Ballard’s themes of isolation, social degeneration, and the deconstruction of time. Paul Moakley, former photo editor at PDN and current deputy photo editor at TIME magazine, explores adolescence with an in-depth chronicle of an all-boys catholic high school captured through large-format photographs and short films.
Video artist Alex Villar harnesses his medium’s susceptibility for literal representation to a figurative end in, “Breaking into Business;” Villar “breaks into the art world,” by “breaking and entering” art institutions. Nia Burks explores our dependence upon and addiction to new media with humorous and pedestrian account in “Angry Gamers.”
The mutability of the new media is central to the work of artists Paul D. Miller and Phillip David Sterns. As part of his “Antartica Project,” multi-media artist and composer, Paul D. Miller (“DJ Spooky”) translates snowflakes into music, by overlaying the hexagonal shape inherent to all snowflakes on a logarithmic sound track. Artist Phillip David Stearns uses raw electronic signals to create visual imagery.
Art enthusiasts who visit “Ivory Tower” will be challenged, energized, and delighted. Prepare for a conceptual and humorous feast of sight and sound. “Ivory Tower” runs from Dec. 1-4, 2011, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. There is an opening with the artists on December 1st from 6 to 10 p.m., and an unveiling of the Carbonneau projection from 8 to 10 p.m. on November 30th.
ABOUT THE CURATORS
Lauren Gentile, a longtime art professional and the former Director of Irvine Contemporary, launched, Contemporary Wing in October 2011, bringing a fresh and dynamic voice to the Washington D.C. art scene. The mission of Contemporary is to find and advance the careers of contemporary artists whose work will define American Art in the coming decade, while maintaining vigorous exhibition program. For more information about “Ivory Tower,” the artists exhibited, or Contemporary Wing, please go to www.contemporarywing.com.
Ginger Shulick is the founder of Big Deal Arts, www.bigdealarts.com, and the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Art Connects NY, and its Spattered Columns exhibition space in SOHO. Shulick has curated a number of exhibitions, such as, “LUMEN,” an international video and performance festival, and the “The Tycoon Continues and So Do You,” about the artifacts of war. She lectures frequently about performance and video art in New York City and internationally
Special thanks to NYC-based Bomb Lager for providing the liquid fun for all of the IVORY TOWER events.
