BESIDES CURATED BY COREY OBERLANDER & LINDSEY STAPLETON
BESIDES ALLISON BAKER SANDRA ERBACHER KEEGAN GRANDBOIS JESSICA LAWRENCE EDDIE VILLANUEVA
Besides is the second installment of a two-part exhibition focused on subtle, persistent revolt. Through the implementation of pale, muted, and pastel colors the artists reference the mundane aesthetic commonly associated with necktie collections, tupperware parties, office climate or holiday decorations. These interdisciplinary works feel familiar and reveal an underhanded, yet delightful rebellion upon continued investigation. By splitting the exhibition into two parts, curators Corey Oberlander and Lindsey Stapleton are able to explore two separate manifestations: the mental and the physical rejection of domestic urbanity. The five artist exhibition includes Eddie Villanueva, Keegan Grandbois, Allison Baker, Sandra Erbacher and Jessica Lawrence. Focusing on a tangible rejection, this installation will include objects, environments and activities that fail to adhere to their usual responsibilities - finding surprising elements of defiant personality in otherwise stereotypical places. Unagressive, aesthetically pleasing, and slightly ambiguous, the pieces in this exhibition will be presented in an unassuming manner - laid out like a casually furnished living space. The work in the show will sit firmly between the familiar and the rebellious, asking the viewer to reassess their understanding of their place within the artists' environment. Tonally, expect anti-jokes and anti-art; the lack of punchline becomes the punchline without wavering into either criticism or traditional humor.
Eddie Villanueva's Guitar is a coin-operated guitar on top of a re-purposed grocery-store kiddie ride. Energized by a single quarter, the guitar lunges into action playing the self-actualized drone of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows", the seminal masterpiece and closing track of Revolver. The song is one prolonged C chord with reverse tape loops a constant drum beat. Keegan Grandbois' prints hang scattered throughout the gallery. Simultaneously of still life and autobiographical tradition, his compositions trigger a ubiquitous nostalgia while remaining personal and sincere. Allison Baker subverts traditions of domestic femininity through sculpture, video and installation. in BESIDES, she presents two videos documenting anonymous women preforming overtly feminine actions. In each piece, the action quickly moves past the expected ending and pushes the viewer to endure something significantly more arduous. Jessica Lawrence works with the associative nature of materials through explorations in object placement, photography, and varying levels of digital and material manipulation. Her digital prints and coffee-table sized furniture pieces exemplify subtle shifts in perception that occur when an object's inherent qualities are reconstructed or manipulated to defy their intended use. Sandra Erbacher's large sculpture resembles an Ikea DIY project gone wrong. Originally a standard item from the Swedish furniture house's oevre, Erbacher has cut, manipulated and re-joined in a way that is both considered as it is nonsensical; reflecting the endless effort of someone who is trying to follow instructions yet does not understand the workings of the separate parts in the bigger picture. A separateness, an aside; the works presented in outwardly mock, criticize or deride the systems Instead, these pieces actualize a common trope society: the causal belief that that the masses go and the individual goes against it.
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ALLISON
BAKER
My work bucks notions of traditional femininity with a subverted re-appropriation of femaleness using the very thing that oppresses us: our prescriptive gender roles, our weakness, our plight, and our fits of fancy. We sad girls are bad girls. Blatantly refusing to act properly, show decorum, and be the well-mannered darlings we were raised to be. allisonbaker.com GRIN: How do you decide on your materials? It seems that they often include domestic object does this come from a personal place, is it the product of observation, or both? Allison Baker- I’m a shameless voyeur, an eavesdropper, and at times a wallflower. While driving around at night I sneak brief glimpses inside homes, captivated by interiors illuminated in the darkness. The scenes I discover are reminiscent of a tableau vivant; they capture the anonymity and intimacy of private spaces. I fictionalize narratives of people in their personal dioramas: the crestfallen, pudgy suburban middle-aged couple at Applebee’s getting shithoused on cheap happy-hour margaritas, not because they necessarily want to but because it is what they have done for every Thursday ‘date night’ for the last fifteen years. “Smother” was inspired by similar fabricated observation and the
façade of a Laura Ashley clad Midwestern family: syrupy, quixotic, and ultimately unrealistic or at the very least oppressive. The video is a sort of fugue state, a fantasy enacted within the panopticon of the home. The figure is so habituated in the domestic that any transgression is still imagined within the scope of femininity. Pointless sublimation. I source materials in a palette that reflects an exaggerated, cloying sweetness while maintaining a cheapness or artificiality. I’m certainly not touting the virtues of matching monogramed towels or decorative soap (for company only). At times my work is emblematic of everything I don’t want in life. I don’t want to live like that but I fill my studio with the junk anyway. GRIN- Where do you live? Where do you work? Are these places the products of convenience, calculated choice, or necessity? Do you see yourself in a different place 5 years from now?
AB- Recently, I relocated from Providence to the Twin Cities; I live and work in Saint Paul, MN as an Assistant Professor at Hamline University teaching sculpture and drawing. I applied to teaching positions across the country and am beyond pleased to land back in Minnesota after completing a residency at Franconia Sculpture Park. I could never give up teaching; it affords me the time, space, and security to pursue my studio practice with impunity. I plan on staying in the Twin Cites for the foreseeable future, however, you might ask again after 3 more months of winter here. GRIN- Utilizing relatable subject or material often amplifies a viewer's interaction with a work. What level of consideration do you place with this reaction during your process? I strive to make work that elicits a strong affective response. I want to infect the viewer with unwanted emotions. Domestic discontent is a reasonably universal experience, at least wherever ourgeois, middle-class
experience, at least wherever bourgeois, middle-class values preside. But even if your world consists of unicorns and cotton candy, my sculptures and videos will nonetheless putrefy your gut with a deliberate and bodily affect. That is probably megalomaniacal but work about being happy is boring. And nothing is more than Tiffany blue.
depressing
SANDRA
ERBACHER
Sandra Erbacher is a German artist living and working in Providence, RI. She has earned her BFA from Camberwell College of Art, London (2009) and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2014). She has exhibited nationally and internationally, at Grin Providence, the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, the Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, Mana Contemporary Chicago, Circuit 12 Contemporary, Dallas, The Contemporary, London, Kunstverein Speyer, Germany, Umbrella Gallery, Leeds, and Five Years, London. She is the recipient of the 2014 Chazen Prize to an Outstanding MFA Student, a University of Wisconsin fellowship and the Blink Grant for Public Art 2013. She is currently represented by GRIN in Providence. sandraerbacher.com GRIN - How do you decide on your materials? It seems that they often include the domestic object – does this come from a personal place, is it the product of observation, or both? SANDRA ERBACHER - The objects presented in my work come from personal experience, encounters and observation. Growing up in Germany during the 80s has definitely informed my choice of objects. They have a slightly outdated, nostalgic feel to them, yet they represent the efficiency and orderliness stereotypically associated with the country. The materials or medium chosen to present these objects depends on what I would like to communicate at any given time. At times a seemingly cool, removed photographic presentation may seem the most appropriate form, at other times a sculpture or experiential installation might be the more succinct embodiment for an idea. GRIN Where do you live? Where do you work? Are these places the products of convenience, calculated choice, or necessity? Do you see yourself in a different place 5 years from now?
SE- Providence, RI. I used to work in the apartment out of necessity, but this has turned out to be utterly impractical and unsuitable for any photographic or larger work. So from January this year, my husband and I share a studio at Fountain Street Studios. Not any specific place but onwards and upwards. GRINUtilizing relatable subject or material often amplifies a viewer’s interaction with a work. What level of consideration do you place with this reaction during your process? SE- At first, the objects I use may often seem very cold, detached and difficult to relate to on a personal level. Additionally, they may be presented in a very removed way, for instance, using the photographic style of commercial stock photography, institutional material such as white laminated wood or cool neon lighting. However, I purposefully try to introduce a sense of humour and playfulness into my work to act as an access point for the audience, well as a critical tool to trigger a thought process or questioning of the status quo or the deeper meaning of a work.
KEEGAN
GRANDBOIS
Keegan Grandbois is an artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. He has been featured in Pitch-Zine, Nowness, Nou and Juztapoz. Ana Gomindes of Pitch-Present says “By combining two major elements of memory - photography and objects- Brooklyn based artist, Keegan Grandbois creates still life representations that are ubiquitously universal and perseveringly personal, triggering the nostalgic in a wonderful way�. keegan-grandbois.com
Where do you live? Where do you work? Are these places the products of convenience, calculated choice, or necessity? Do you see yourself in a different place 5 years from now? I live in Brooklyn, NY. I do most of my work out of my bedroom, which I've turned into a studio. Mainly due to cost, but with the added "benefit" of not being able to escape working on things when I'm not bartending. While the struggle is real, I think NYC will do for the time being.
Utilizing relatable subject or material often amplifies a viewer's interaction with a work. What level of consideration do you place with this reaction during your process? They represent a common ground, a medium that is widely used or integrated into peoples lives and histories. For me personally, these objects and themes represent a constant and stable landscape that I otherwise not Turn anddidShoot personally experience having 2015 moved consistently and constantly throughout my entire life.
JESSICA
LAWRENCE
A fundamental concept in my work is the way both physical and intangible characteristics of an object dictate our experience of them. I am intrigued by the subtle shifts in perception that occur when what we think of as an object’s inherent qualities are reconstructed or manipulated to remove a singular representation of meaning. I continue to wonder how hybrid forms and constructions--particularly the combination of analog and digital languages--can reveal new or unexpected facets of a familiar object, which may result in a dialogue that questions our own relationship to a material’s implied history. In my most recent practice, I am interested in working with the associative nature of materials through explorations such as object placement, photography, and varying levels of digital and material manipulation. These relationships are the basis of internal reflection which compels us to explore how time, identity, and existence are exposed through the subtleties of material and object interaction. Jessica Lawrence earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts from Moore College of Art & Design and was a recent resident at the Vermont Studio Center in November 2015. She lives and works in Philadelphia, PA. jessica-lawrence.com
GRIN - How do you decide on your materials? It seems that they often include domestic object - does this come from a personal place, is it the product of observation, or both? Jessica Lawrence - I often find myself obsessing over the flooring and wall paneling in grocery stores, fitness centers, and office spaces. My most recent fixation is with the type of speckled rubber tile whose sole purpose seems to be convincing us all that the floor is clean. I’ve seen the same patterning on the wall paneling of the train, but it’s gross to imagine it’s intended to create the same type of camouflage. It’s so interesting that you can find such specificity in color and d e s i g n, but for t h e mo st part it
goes unnoticed. For me it feels like there’s this densely rich history that only adds complexity to the rest of it’s mundane surroundings. So, I use this stuff and hope it attaches a layer of criticality to whatever I put it on or next to. These simulated realms, or object caricatures, operate as an anthropological challenge and allow people to rediscover their surroundings. Where domesticity is concerned, my approach is to reinterpret familiar objects and spaces using familiar materials, and domestic objects are very good at creating a false sense of the personal. However, while the spaces I create may suggest that they are inhabited, I ultimately want to create a sterile and systematic environment.
GRIN- Where do you live? Where do you work? Are these places the products of convenience, calculated choice, or necessity? Do you see yourself in a different place 5 years from now? JL- I live and work in Philadelphia. I’m probably here now because I’ve always been here. While I find myself steadily inspired by this city the ideas that I’m working with aren’t firmly grounded in anything Philadelphian, so I can visualize myself in many different places in the future. GRIN - Utilizing relatable subject
or material often amplifies a viewer's interaction with a work. What level of consideration do you place with this reaction during your process? JL- I once read somewhere that simulated objects can’t be penetrated because they have nothing to conceal, which if true would mean my objects and images have the capacity to project their own transparency. This idea feels critical to the overall experience I’m interested in eliciting because I can utilize the accessibility of the familiar to create physical metaphors that guide the viewer through my sculptures.
EDDIE
VILLANUEVA
Eddie Villanueva (b.1983, Milwaukee) received his B.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work has been featured at the SCOPE Art Fair, Miami, and in Global Positioning System at the School of Visual Arts, New York, the North American Graduate Art Survey at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, and the Wisconsin Triennial at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. He received a Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant in 2012, and a Mary L. Nohl Emerging Artist Fellowship in 2013. He has taught at UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee and UW-Richland. Villanueva is currently teaching at Brown University. "My work operates within an expanded field of inquiry into socially and culturally sanctioned versions of a hetero-normative masculinity. I explore the formation of my own gender identity by mining my personal history as a collection of events, experiences, thoughts, and lessons that have had a profound formative effect on the development of my sense of self; this embodied and emotionally complex sense of self often stands in sharp contrast with external cultural conventions and expectations of manhood found in the social realm. I am interested in the ways by which male identity manifests itself both publicly and privately. How gender, and in my case male gender, is performed and how a chasm between the personal experience and the cultural creation and sanctioning of gender identity can lead to a sense of double consciousness or personal rift within one’s sense of self. Subjects addressed in my work include emotional vulnerability, violence, control, sexuality, legacy, social hierarchies, and childhood development. Early on, I explored these subjects through abstract painting and installation, but more recently my attention has shifted away from creating emotionally charged physical spaces, to examining the literal signifiers of my lived experiences, the objects and media that trigger memories and associations. My media interests have expanded to include sculpture, found objects, performance, audio and video, programming, and new technologies. Through my work, I am questioning established patriarchal gender hierarchies through the lens of my own fractured and multi-faceted experience of masculinity as embedded within the broader socio-cultural realm. In my self exploration, I present points of reflection for the largely hidden phenomenological reality of the secret lives of men." -Eddie Villanueva (website) eddievillanueva.com
GRIN- How do you decide on your materials? It seems that they often include domestic objects. Does this come from a personal place, is it the product of observation, or both?
GRIN- Utilizing relatable subject material often amplifies a viewer’s interaction with a work. What level of consideration do you place with this reaction during your process?
Eddie Villanueva- I choose my materials based on the work’s conceptual needs. It’s very rare that I am ever trying to make an overt statement, or trying to pose a specific question. Rather, I want to put things out there in a self-reflexive kind of way. I am interested in the everyday experiences that tow the line between objectively commonplace and inexplicably mystical. I’ve always done a lot of inward looking, so naturally the work comes from that introspective place. I think about the strange and often irrational experiences that have, for better or for worse, lead me to become the person that I am today.
EV- To some degree I am always considering the way in which a person will interact with my work. I think about how a particular piece will confront a viewer, how it will unfold in front of them, and how I can direct the visual conversation through anticipating the viewer’s reception of the piece. A lot of the imagery I use has its origin in domestic spaces, so I think that people are immediately enticed by the nostalgia they feel when looking at my work. I’m not bothered by this initial superficial attraction, because slowly it seems to subside, and people become more aware of the unsettling nature of my object choices, juxtapositions, and the often-dark suburban narratives. As I mentioned before, the work is introspective in nature, but since the materials are so approachable, I think that people easily see themselves in the art.
GRIN- Where do you live? Where do you work? Are these places the product of convenience, calculated choice, or necessity? Do you see yourself in a different place in 5 years? EV- I currently live in Providence RI and I just moved into a studio in Pawtucket. Because of the somewhat chaotic nature of my studio practice, it is definitely necessary for me to have a place where I can go to work that is removed from my home space. I never seem to know exactly where I’m going to be year to year, but I am always trying to move forward with my work. I am trying to build something substantial with my work, so all of my career decisions are in service to that.
GRIN GRIN is a contemporary art gallery located at The Plant in the historic Olneyville District of Providence, Rhode Island. Directed by Corey Oberlander and Lindsey Stapleton, GRIN was founded in 2013 as a space for artists to develop and exhibit their work with a steady curatorial hand. Our intent is to develop an intellectually demanding yet aesthetically pleasing program, focusing on emerging artists working across mediums. Our hope is to stimulate fresh dialogue while continuing to promote the development of the local creative community. Our mission is to support the careers of underexposed artists with a devotion to craft and conceptual advancement. grinprovidence.com
CONTACT 60 Valley Street, Unit 3, Providence, Rhode Island 02909 e. contact@grinprovidence.com p. 401 272 0796 Open Saturdays 12PM - 5PM by announcement, appointment chance.
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