INTO THE WOODS

Into the Woods will feature photographs, drawings, prints and two sculptural installations, as well as a selection of historical photographs all organized around the theme of fairy tales, myths, and fantasy. Some of the work suggests a strong narrative, often connected to specific stories such as Dare Wrights `Lonely Doll´ black and white photographic book illustrations with Little Bear and Daddy Bear, or Amy Cutler´s meticulously rendered drawings with frazzled peasants, and humanlike piggies. Other work in the show is more general- the vocabulary of myth and fairy tale is so familiar to us from our childhood exposure to books and Disney that mere suggestions of enchanted forests, gauzy ball gowns, or anthropomorphic animals conjure up associations of beloved books, movies and most importantly, the possibility of magic and transformation in our lives.

Transformation, camouflage, private ritual and imaginative freedom are all themes which emerge in the selection of works, and their ability to transport us to that magical place or trigger feelings of wonder, danger and possibility. Alyson Shotzs techno trees are suspended above a reflecting surface, awaiting the arrival of a satyr or nymph, and Beverly Semmes sets the stage for a midsummer frolic with a cloth spread on the forest floor concealing a figure below.

Childhood is often a metaphor for the artist, a time of freedom and creativity when the division between reality and fantasy are blurred. Much contemporary art is deliberately child-like” but that is not the intention in these works. Reference to magical stories suggests the possibility of returning to or reentering a state-of -mind. We are not asked to examine how the artist achieved their ends technically or even what theory underlies these objects, but to follow the breadcrumbs and full of wonder and sometimes fear- go into the woods.

Additional artists included in the show are Joan Banach, Ellen Berkenblitt, Petah Coyne, Elliott Green, Arturo Herra, Todd Hido, Suzanne Kuhn, Didier Massard, Helen van Meene, Sarah Moon, Abelardo Morrell, Eileen Neff, John OReilly, Ellen Phelan, Orit Raff, Kiki Smith and Clara Williams as well as vintage photographs by Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Clarence John Laughlin, Ralph Eugene Meatyard.

We are pleased to announce our third solo exhibition of new work by Penelope Umbrico entitled Out of Place. A catalogue has been published in conjunction with the show with an essay by Sheryl Conkelton and the support of the New York Foundation for the Arts.

Since Umbrico began publicly exhibiting in 1991, she has been known for her colorful abstract photographs. In her 1998 solo show entitled From Catalogues” she created an enormous gridded installation of individual items being offered through mail order - from jewelry to dishes - blurred in the exposure to obscure the identity of the object. Umbrico has continued to work with catalogues, but now she has extracted from scenes of interiors the mirrors and views through partially open doors. The reflections and views are idealized in the catalogues and present a set of images which are intended to lure and seduce (with the exception of the least expensive catalogues which often present a hazy gray reflection, according to Umbrico.)

Umbrico has observed how the mirrors contain the space behind you, yet you are omitted from the reflection, and are invisible. They include you in the scene You become the object. None of the objects which appear reflected in the mirrors are being offered for sale- they are part of the seduction.” Umbrico has enlarged the mirrors and views to the size and shape they are described in the catalogues- and they are presented as objects. It is both a thing and a complete illusion, complete with enlarged ben day dots of cheaply reproduced material. The doorway views are tall and slim- like a Barnett Newman zip. They almost always present an idyllic suburban country landscape often with a small private space in the foreground. Umbrico is not unique in drawing our attention to the seductive strategies of advertising, but she manages to create amusing, beautiful and mysterious objects which at the same time critique the vacuous desires of consumers.

Umbrico has had solo exhibitions at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts and the International Center of Photography, and her work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

INTO THE WOODS
a summer group exhibition on the theme of fairy tales, myths and fantasy in contemporary art

Künstler: Joan Banach, Ellen Berkenblitt, Petah Coyne, Amy Cutler, Steve Gianakos, Elliott Green, Arturo Herrera, Todd Hido, Susanne Kühn, Didier Massard, Sarah Moon, Abelardo Morrell, Eileen Neff, John O´Reilly, Ellen Phelan, Orit Raff, Kiki Smith, Clara Williams, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Clarence John Laughlin, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Dare Wright, Alyson Shotz, Beverly Semmes, Hellen van Meene, Edward Weston ...