New Exhibition ->Installation Artists explore aspects of nature
New Exhibitions
2540 Barrett Avenue @25th Street
Richmond, CA 94804
510.620.6772
Gallery open Tuesday - Saturday, please call for hours and directions.
These EXHIBITIONS are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Wheelchair accessible.
Exhibition Dates: May 12 - July 3, 1999
Free Panel Disscussion:
Saturday, June 5, 3pm-4:30pm
Public Reception for the artists & Dance Performance by Anima Mundi:
Saturday, June 5, 4:30pm-6:30pm
In the Main Gallery, South Gallery, West Gallery and Courtyard:
SPACES of NATURE
Guest curated by Dr. Peter Selz
Nine San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California Artists:
Tony Bellaver, Mark Brest van Kempen, Alex B. Champion, Pauletta M.
Chanco, Angelika Hofmann, Daniel McCormick, Keiko Nelson, Laurie Polster
and S. Mark Research.
Spaces of Nature features artists who incorporate aspects of nature into
their work. Each artist approaches the concept of nature in a personal way
ranging from the investigation of urban and wilderness environments, the
creation of artificial environments reflecting a personal landscape and
the manipulation or placement of meaningful objects and materials that
come from nature.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Landscapes of Meaning:
A panel discussion about our evolving relationship to the
environment and the contemporary perceptions of "nature."
The discussion will feature guest curator Dr. Peter Selz and exhibition
artists. Saturday, June 5, 3:00-4:30pm. (Free)
Understanding Our Urban Creeks:
A walking tour and discussion about the damaged creek environments of
Richmond/ West Contra Costa County and how ecological problems can be
solved through the creative use of natural materials.
Saturday, June 12, 1:00pm.
Tour will begin at the Richmond Art Center. (Free)
* Second Venue Presentation:
Spaces of Nature exhibition will travel to the Armory Center for the
Arts in Pasadena and will be exhibited July 25 - September 12, 1999. A
reception for the artists will be held on Saturday, July 24, 7:00 -
9:00pm.
In the Community Gallery:
Top of the Map Artists:
West Contra Costa County Artists in the ProArts East Bay Open Studios.
May 12 - July 3, 1999.
Watercolor Paintings
by Richmond Art Center Adult Students.
May 12 - July 3, 1999.
I Got All of My Friends With Me:
A Look at Gay and Lesbian Youth in West Contra Costa County.
June 1 - July 3, 1999.
Details of the Spaces of Nature Project | RICHMOND ART CENTER
The relationship of the artists to each other and the theme of Spaces of
Nature have been carefully selected by curator Dr. Peter Selz, former
curator of the Museum of Modern Art and founding director of the
University Art Museum at UC Berkeley. Artists in the exhibition will
include Tony Bellaver (San Francisco, CA), Mark Brest van Kempen (San
Francisco, CA), Alex B. Champion (Philo, Northern CA), Pauletta M. Chanco
(Oakland, CA), Angelika Hofmann (Oakland, CA), S. Mark Research (Oakland,
CA / Sophia, Bulgaria), Daniel McCormick (Fairfax, Northern CA) , Keiko
Nelson (Kensington, CA) and Laurie Polster (Berkeley, CA).
Spaces of Nature Project Descriptions:
Tony Bellaver's outdoor installation will include recently transplanted
trees which are surrounded by audio speakers that emit recordings of
pseudo-scientific instructions about the ideal form and function of the
trees in their natural environment.
Mark Brest Van Kempen's installation will include video documentation,
tracking diagrams, location maps, specimens and research notes documenting
his 30 day survival trip into the Northern California wilderness. The
artist sees the actual event of going into the wilderness landscape and
living off the land as the activity of art making. The installation at
RAC is the evidence of the activity.
Alex B. Champion will create a labyrinth in the RAC courtyard. Made out
of earth and growing plant material, visitors will be encouraged to travel
into the maze space and experience the transforming effects of
environmental space and human energy.
Pauletta M. Chanco's installation explores concepts related to human
nature. Focusing on the dichotomy between the conscious and unconscious
state of the human mind, Chanco's installation will represent the artist's
interpretation of the interior and exterior spaces of the mind and the
ways in which we determine and understand our selves and our motivations.
Angelika Hofmann will construct a fifteen foot tall pounded earth
sculpture in the RAC courtyard. Her use of dirt in this earthen structure
invites the viewer to consider our connection to the earth and the
cyclical nature of all living things.
S. Mark Research's installation is an investigation of the ways in which
we perceive and identify the important spaces in our everyday, urban
landscapes. To explore and present this subject of observation and
environmental understanding, Mark studies, researches and maps the gallery
environment. The evidence of this activity, through markings, mapping and
photography, is the installation itself.
Daniel McCormick makes sculptural objects out of branches, twigs and twine
to be placed in natural stream bed environments to help improve the
equilibrium needed to restore successful water systems. The basket-like
natural forms are therefore both sculptural objects, and they are working
systems of environmental restoration.
Keiko Nelson's exhibition space will be transformed into a landscape of
sand and ceramic pod-like spheres. This landscape is designed to convey a
sense of her psychological state and the relationship to nature and
natural objects.
Laurie Polster's work with the formal characteristics of space, placement
and transition will be seen in this installation of tree branches and
trunks carefully arranged on the gallery floor and walls to convey a sense
of movement and elegant activity.
The Spaces of Nature Catalog will include color images of each on-site
installation, a written statement by each artist. The catalog will also
include an essay about the theme of the exhibition co-written by guest
curator Dr. Peter Selz and the Richmond Art Center Exhibitions Director,
Rachel Osajima. The catalog will be on sale at the RAC reception for the
artists on Saturday, June 5, 4:30 - 6:30pm and will also be available at
the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena during the Spaces of Nature
exhibition period of July 25 thorough September 12, 1999.
Anima Mundi Dance Company will present a special program as part of the
Spaces of Nature exhibition on Saturday, June 5, 1999. The Anima Mundi
Dance Company, based in Richmond, is directed by choreographer Kathryn
Roszak and by visual artist/composer Christopher Castle. Anima Mundi
creates performances linking the environment, arts and humanity. In the
Richmond Art Center's outdoor courtyard space, which will hold the
labyrinth installation by Alex B. Champion, Anima Mundi will perform
"Lizard" and "Heron". Both dances are performed to music scored from
audio recording of animals. Inside the Main Gallery, the dance company
will present "Pinecone" which takes inspiration from natural geometry of
the pinecone which also will be played as a musical instrument by
Christopher Castle. Amongst the indoor artists' installations, the dance
company will also perform "Rock", in which the dancers' path is mapped by
the movements of a rolling stone. Anima Mundi has previously performed at
the La MaMa E.T.C. in New York, the Smithsonian Institution, Washington
D.C., Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West and the Copenhagen Cultural
Festival in Denmark.
Top of the Map Artists:
West Contra Costa County Artists in the ProArts East Bay Open Studios.
This exhibition features art work made by a number of the West Contra
Costa Artists who are participating in the June Open Studios event of the
East Bay. The exhibition will highlight the many very talented artists in
this area. Artists in the West Contra Costa County Open Studios who may
be included in the RAC exhibition include Tina Amidon, Mary Bayer, Ruth
Block, Stan Cardinet, Swan Childress, Laura Cunningham, Emily Duffy, Pam
Fingado, Barbara Fracchia, Angie Garberina, Lisa Greenstein, Eileen
Hammons, Maryanne Kolb, Alexander Peter, Traudel Prussin, Paula Ross, Lin
Salamo, Alexandra Von Burg, and Donna Weter. The Open Studios weekends are
June 5,6 and 12,13, 1999. PR contract for the Top of the Map Artists is
Pam Fingado, 510-525-6239.
I Got All of My Friends With Me:
A Look at Gay and Lesbian Youth in West Contra Costa County.
This photographic and text display will tell the stories of the very
diverse population of gay and lesbian youth who live in Richmond and
surrounding areas. This exhibition will be displayed in the month of June
in celebration of Gay Pride Month. This photo exhibition was created in
response to the urgent safety needs that gay and lesbian youth face today
and to help increase awareness that gay and lesbian youth are in our
schools, playgrounds, churches, and neighborhoods. The images and stories
portrayed in the exhibit have all been taken by and of local Contra Costa
County youth who helped organize this project. The courageous visibility
you see in I Got My Friends With Me is offered to help dispel homophobic
myths and stereotypes that lead to the harassment and violence that
effects us all.
I Got All My Friends With Me: A Look at Gay and Lesbian Youth in Contra
Costa County is a project sponsored by the collaborative effects of the
Mariposa Coalition members with funding provided by the Increase The Peace
Campaign of Contra Costa County, The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education
Network, San Francisco-East Bay (GLSEN SF-EB), AT&T, Lesbian, Bisexual,
Gay and Transgender United Employees) of AT&T, and individual Contra Costa
community members. The Mariposa Coalition is comprised of public and
private agency representatives, students, parents, teachers, and
administrators who are committed to promoting the safety, health, and
well-being of all Contra Costa County youth and families, especially those
who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or are
questioning their sexual orientation. For more information about The
Mariposa Coalition please call Carla Goad, Center for Human Development,
925/687-8844 or Julie Lienert, Catholic Charities of the East Bay at
510/768-3107.
€ Location Information:
Richmond Art Center
2540 Barrett Ave. at the corner of Barrett & 25th St. Richmond CA 94804
510.620.6772
Gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday, please call for hours.
These EXHIBITIONS are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Galleries are wheelchair accessible.
€ Organization Information:
The mission of the Richmond Art Center is to provide opportunities which
promote awareness, appreciation and expression in the visual arts and
crafts among the diverse populations of Richmond, West Contra Costa County
and the Greater Bay Area. To achieve this, RAC has developed a tremendous
variety of programs that address cultural, social, educational and
personal issues while promoting peace and cross-cultural understanding
through art.
€ RAC Funders:
The Richmond Art Center is a member-supported, privately funded arts
organization receiving major grants from the BankAmerica Foundation, Bank
of the West, Berlex Biosciences, California Arts Council, California
Tamarack Foundation, Chevron USA, The City of Richmond, East Bay Community
Foundation, Haley Charitable Foundation, Hilltop Shopping Center, John S.
and James L. Knight Foundation, LEF Foundation, the Dean and Margaret
Lesher Foundation, Mechanics Bank, National Endowment for the Arts, Oliver
& Co., Overaa Construction Co., PG&E, Richmond Blueprint & Litho Co.,
Springcreek Foundation, Target Stores, Shaper Lighting, Surdna Foundation
and Zeneca Corp.
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RICHMOND ART CENTER
2540 Barrett Ave. @ 25th
Richmond, CA 94804
PH. 510 620-6772
FAX 510 620-6771