Open Studio

OPEN STUDIO PRESENTS

ALMOST THERE


14 DECEMBER 2007        BARD COLLEGE




The works in this show express the ever-evolving nature of our collective methods of communication. Though the artists who have been chosen to participate in this show all have very different approaches and processes in their art making all the works have a pseudo-transparency, encouraging the viewer to question the nature of communication and how active dialogue is sustained.

Virtual Filmmaking: Landscape and Memory, a course taught this semester as part of the Bard-Smolny Virtual Campus, helped to establish a creative dialogue between students at both colleges through video, and allowed students to collaborate intellectually and artistically. In an effort to match works from the Virtual Campus project with conceptually similar works we sought out artists whose work spoke to themes relating to established relationships, unknown territories, and ambiguous results within the context of communication.  The show ultimately comes together as a celebration of the launch of a new website, Open Studio, which will act as a platform for exchange between Bard and Smolny artists.

Open Studio is a collaborative project between Bard and Smolny Colleges, made possible with a grant from the Mellon Foundation and Bard’s Institute for International Liberal Education. The intention is to link the artistic communities at either institution, giving participants the opportunity to enter into one another’s creative process. The project will take the form of a website (www.vcopenstudio.org) that will enable students to have an open dialogue surrounding their artistic practices and serve as a platform for information and resources for students.

1. Devin Gallagher
The Seven Wonders (A-G: The Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, Chchen Itza, Colosseum, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Giza), 2007
Mixed Media

2. Alison Wilder
Yoke Grid, 2007
81 Shirts and Thread

3. Eliza Wicks-Frank
Send a Message to Russia, 2007
Video

4. Emmy Moore
Untitled (Four World Maps), 2007
Pencil on Paper

5. Kerry Wessel and Beny Wagner
Wall
Recycled Doors, 2x4s, Hinges, Brackets

6. Kelly Polman
L-R: , 2007, Digital Inkjet Prints

7. Alex Rickard
Wedding Proposal, 2007
Video

8. Yana Klichuk
Before Wedding Proposal, 2007
Video

9. Greg Fox
NYC Meditation 1 & II
Digital Inkjet Prints
(Photos by Katherine Finkelstein and Stephan Alessi)

10. Gabe Zimmer
Not Present (L-R: Shit, Bowl, Rooftop, Come Here, In Bed), 2006
Digital Inkjet Prints

11. John Seal
Safety Mountain, 2007
Acrylic on Canvas

12. Lanya Snyder
L-R: Untitled, Untitled (American Collectible #1), Untitled (American Collectible #2), 2007
Digital Inkjet Prints

13. Diya Vij
L-R: Untitled, Untitled, 2006
Digital Inkjet Prints

14. Win McCarthy
27 Dubs (Kill the Poor), 2007
Video

15. Sydney Schrader and Joe Verrill
Tunnel, 2007
Digital Inkjet Prints

16. Zhenya Mykhina
Parking Lot, 2007
Stop Animation Video

17. Masha Basyrova and Eliza Wicks-Frank
Our First Meal Together, 2007
Video

18. Joe Verrill
2x4, 2007
Video Installation

19. Masha Bykova
Communication, 2007
Video

20. Kostya Ushakov
Still from Nightdance, 2007
Video Still

Many thanks to: All participating artists, Emily Newman and the Open Studio staff, Peggy Ahwesh, Masha Godovannaya, Susan Gillespie, Arthur Gibbons, Melody Goodwin, Sharon Cody, Roman Hrab and Ailey Kirwin

Show Organized by Beny Wagner and Leah Whitman-Salkin