A 3-person exhibition:
Nina Katchadourian
David Kramer
Jude Tallichet
Dates | 29 June — 29 July, 2012
Opening Reception | Friday, 6 July. 7-10pm
NINA KATCHADOURIAN
DAVID KRAMER
JUDE TALLICHET
Press Release
Modus Vivendi refers to “a way of life” or, alternatively, two parties “agreeing-to-disagree.” The artists in this exhibition, installed at both The Boiler and Pierogi, connect through multiple variations on this theme. Each has developed works involving a way of living, or proposes possibilities of agreeing to disagree. The Boiler installation consists of work by three artists: Nina Katchadourian, David Kramer, and Jude Tallichet.
Nina Katchadourian’s “Monument to the Unelected” is installed across the entire back wall of the Boiler. This work began as a commission by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, for which Nina made a series of presidential campaign signs for every person who ran for president, and lost. These are the kinds of signs seen on roadsides, front lawns, and clustered at intersections during elections and were imagined based on the political platforms, nicknames, reputations, or other information about each candidate. Together they offer a visual representation of the “road not taken” and names that, most often, went into obscurity instead of being inscribed in history.
David Kramer’s work has the wit and insight that only someone who’s “been there, done that” can reveal. Two of David’s paintings are on view, “Up With the Sun” and “Take a Puff,” the latter accompanied by a floor installation. A third work, “Summer Rental,” is a model / sculpture made as a riff on architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous “Fallingwater” design. All of these works play off the notion of a life style that is romanticized through advertising but is highly questionable in reality.
Jude Tallichet’s installation, “Abandoned Clothes,” consists of multiple articles of clothing strewn around the Boiler floor. The small atolls of abandoned clothing are cast in architectural stone. “The telescoped pants encircling an inner ring of lacy underwear, cast off socks, ghostly shirts and empty suits are ripe with erotica and mystery. We strip down to our skins when things get serious and we are reduced to our most basic animal or spiritual nature.” (Tallichet) Upon entering the space we are confronted with this relationship to clothing and the inexplicable yet common placement of each piece on the floor.