SOCIAL INTERACTIONS / BETH CAMPBELL / STEPHEN WILLATS

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS: BETH CAMPBELL / STEPHEN WILLATS December 13, 2008 – February 7, 2009 We are very pleased to announce our forthcoming exhibition with works of Beth Campbell and Stephen Willats who recently participated at Manifesta 7 in Trento and Rovereto, Italy. The European Biennale of Contemporary Art presented different interpretations of the themes The Soul (Trento) and Principle Hope (Rovereto). SOCIAL INTERACTIONS : BETH CAMPBELL / STEPHEN WILLATS was inspired by the artists’ independent curiosity about thoughts, patterns, associations and consequences, their work and interest in architecture and social structures. The exhibit was conceived in order to present these two artists of separate generations and educational experience in one space. Both are concerned with sociology, psychology, communication, chance, and portray this in their art. They have chosen to work in various media to investigate space and interaction within limited space and time. Each artist portrays concepts and connections differently and they are an integral to their work. Their works are in the collections of the Folkwang Museum, Essen, various FNAC and FRAC in France, Kunsthaus Zurich, Migros Museum, Zurich, Museum of Modern Art, New York, National Portrait Gallery, London, New School University, New York, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, Stedelijk Amsterdam Museum, Amsterdam, van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Tate Gallery, London, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, amongst others. In this exhibit we present a selection of Stephen Willats’ (UK, 1943) works on paper and card from 1994 – 2005 that reflect his continued interest in architecture, urbanism, objects and relationships. He is a pioneer of conceptual art and his varied talents, studies and career have merged to create a body of work which includes objects, films, drawings and photography. Over the past five decades he has investigated networks and cybernetic theories of social interactions and communication as well as feedback. This is infused in his work and chosen media with the collaboration of the community and viewer. The form of structural thought and traditional relationships are presented throughout his oeuvre. Historical examples were exhibited in Sammlung 1978 – 2008 at the Migros Museum, Zurich and in The Architecture of Stephen Willats at Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster. The Victoria & Albert Museum, London has included him in their show Cold War Modern Exhibit (on view until January 11, 2009). As depicted in his work During the Lunch Break (2004) communication between people, whether real or imagined, leads to further conversations, thoughts and progressions. When we reflect on Occasional Events Between Four People, 1994, all situations created over a decade ago are as fresh and relevant now as then. The same applies to his films and research of people, families, neighbors, buildings and urban communities and the ways in which neighborhoods take on a dynamic of their own, creating groups or promoting isolation. Beth Campbell’s (USA, 1971) installation piece Following Room – Trento, 2008 is part of her research of repetition, looking, deciphering and presenting reality and illusion, the illusion of reality and the reality of illusions in our world. How much can we trust our eyes, our selves, our thoughts, other people? Her Following Room installations (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and Trento, IT), the Potential Storefront (2007) in Manhattan, and the Never ending continuity error (2004) presented at the 6th Mercosul Biennial in Brazil in 2007 and her films are examples of her ability to present various environments in duplicate and diverse ways. Additionally, her serious contemplation is alleviated with delicate playfulness and masterful knowledge of balance between the various forces of intellect and special relationships of which her mind maps My Potential Future Based on Present Circumstances and mobiles are prime examples. Beth Campbell was recently commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art to create an installation for their 2008 fund-raising gala. She is currently participating in 40th Anniversary Art on Paper 2008 at the The Weatherspoon Art Museum at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC (until January 25, 2009). She received the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2006. Courtesy of Manifesta 7 / Italy For further information please do not hesitate to contact the gallery. Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday 12:00 – 6:00 PM and Saturday 11:00 – 4 :00 PM Between December 22, 2008 and January 6, 2009 the gallery is open by appointment only.

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
Beth Campbell / Stephen Willats