The scenery changes three times
The scenery changes three times
Brian Belott, Matthew Craven, Sara Cwynar, and Jen Liu
Organized by Blonde Art Books
March 2 through March 31, 2013
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 2, 7 – 9pm
Schema Projects
92 St Nicholas Ave
Brooklyn NY 11237
The scenery changes three times takes its title from a collage that Max Ernst published in his first graphic-novel and is a presentation that proposes a formal and conceptual connection between four participating artists and the chapbook – a pocket-size booklet first popularized in the sixteenth century as an apparatus for the dissemination of current events, poetry, and folklore.
Through collage, photomontage, and painting on paper, artists Brian Belott, Matthew Craven, Sara Cwynar, and Jen Liu create vivid environments brimming with fantastical imagery, abstract text, and an implied mythology. In addition, each artist produced an edition of up to ten chapbooks that reconstruct and reimagine the works they have displayed on the gallery walls. Points of investigation stem from the consistency of content and format, and the similar processes through which each artwork and chapbook is constructed.
Like the scenery on a stage, each artwork is a backdrop for a story to unfold. In line with its chapbook counterpart, the collage may be a setting for a lyrical ballad to be performed, or the conditions for a political inquiry. The scenery is embedded with a slew of possible narratives, each imposing its own permanence and historicity. Yet, the scenery is not fixed, rather it has the capability of transforming itself as well as all the elements within its reach. The scene changes: prolonging time, obscuring bodies and shapes, bending and twisting the vanishing point, and traveling freely from one state to the other.
With its second exhibition, Blonde Art Books continues to examine the curatorial methods through which traditionally displayed works of art presented alongside artist books may further enrich the experience and understanding of an art exhibition.
For more information please email Sonel Breslav at blondeartbooks@gmail.com.
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Brian Belott was born in East Orange, NJ. He lives and works in New York and received his BFA 1995 from School of Visual Arts, NY after a stint at Cooper Union. Belott works in a variety of mediums including collage, sculpture, installation, video, sound, and performance, often including found objects. Belott has mounted several major solo exhibitions including Zurcher Studio, New York; CANADA, New York; Galerie Zurcher, Paris; and Kenny Schacter Contemporary, New York. Most recently his work was included in exhibitions at Anna Kustera, New York; Royal/t, Culver City, California; The Hole, New York; The Journal, New York; Loyal, Malmo, Sweden; MACRO Museum, Rome; Museum of Modern Art, New York. Belott’s first book, Wipe That Clock Off Your Face was published by PictureBox, in 2007. Brian Belott is represented by Zürcher, Paris/New York. www.brianbelott.com/
Matthew Craven uses historical images as a backdrop for a more abstract form of storytelling. Images from lost cultures, relics and landscapes, both well-known and extremely ambiguous create the patterns within my work. These arrangements highlight shape and composition rather than historical accuracy, solidifying their participation in a completely unique myth. Born in Grand Rapids MI, Craven lives and works in New York. He received his BFA from Michigan State University in 2004 and his MFA from The School of Visual Art in 2010. He has participated in exhibitions at Marvelli Gallery, New York; Allegra LaViola, New York; The Hole, New York; Jen Beckman, New York; Perry Rubenstein, New York; Gallery Hijinks, San Fransisco; Nudashank Baltimore, and Grizzly Grizzly, Philadelphia. matthewcraven.com/home.html