Springtide
April 30 - July 31, 2005Named for the powerful "springtide" around the time of the new moon, this exhibition presents a rush of new and recent work by five artists. Without enforcing any singular theme the works coalesce around strong visual connections. The figure, as both a presence and an absence, evokes, through works that are themselves acutely realized, an exquisite sense of vulnerability and longing. Animals are noticeably at large, bringing along their intensity; fabric appears in a number of works as a material to mute form.
To reflect on the works on individual terms, five poets were commissioned to each write a new poem to the work of one of the artists in the show.
Louise Bourgeois (b. 1911, Paris, France; lives Brooklyn, NY). A fabric book stitched from remnants the artist has collected throughout her life, Ode â l'Oubli is a compendium of the modes of abstraction and vast emotional terrain that Bourgeois's art has covered since the 1930s. (Realized as a multiple edition, simply as an act of reproduction, this new work is awe-inspiring.)
Troy Brauntuch (b. 1954, Jersey City, NJ; lives Austin, TX). Brauntuch paints black-into-black to create images that are as hard to fathom-psychologically and pictorially-as they are photographic in their representation of everyday objects inflected with dark mystery.
Berlinde De Bruyckere (b. 1964, Ghent, Belgium; lives Ghent). Life-size sculptures of human and animal forms (especially horses) actively solicit feeling by bearing weight, appearing under assault, suspended in trees or heaped with textiles. This is the first museum presentation in America of this Flemish artist's work.
Patty Chang (b. 1972, San Francisco; lives New York). A performance and video artist, who almost always pictures herself, Chang melds endurance with identity to produce works that are at once engagingly slapstick and grotesquely intimate.
Erick Swenson (b. 1972 Phoenixville, PA; lives Dallas). Swenson's hyper-realistic sculptures embody collisions between nature and culture, often in the form of animals with eerily human attributes, caught in moments of isolation and pathos.
Developed collectively by the curatorial department, "Springtide" harks to past ICA exhibitions including "Machine Works" (1981) and "PerForms" (1995). These shows act responsively to contemporary culture by eddying a small group of artists whose work conveys some current of imagery and thought, practice and expression. It will be accompanied by a brochure publication that will feature five new works commissioned by contemporary poets.
ICA acknowledges the primary sponsorship of The Buddy Taub Foundation. We are also grateful for the generous support of ICA's Leadership Circle: Meredith & Bryan Verona; Keith A. Morgan/AAMCO Transmissions, Inc.; Emily Chen Carrera & Chris Carrera; Cecile & Christopher D'Amelio; Glenn R. Fuhrman; Katherine Greenberg; Paula & Robert Hoy; Maria T. Hrvatin/Cozen O'Connor; Carolyn & Michael Jacobs; Amy & John Phelan; Eric Rymshaw & James Fulton; Mary & Matthew Sample; Andrew & Lynn Stutzman/Stradley; Ronon, Stevens & Young; John Wind & Kirk Kirkpatrick; Thomas Miles; Peter J. O'Dwyer; Anurag Bhargava; Deborah & Craig Cogut; Robbin Cook; Paul M. Curci; Ellen & Gary Davis; Sara Fitzmaurice & Perry Rubenstein; Victoria Voytek & Robert A. Fogelson; David B. Ford; James Gertler; Myles Kelly; Suzanne & Jeffrey Koopman; John P. Korman; Nicole & Michael Kubin; Eric S. Lane; Marc R. Lisker; Tamar & Steve Olitsky; Norma & Larry Reichlin; Jeanne Scandura; Daniel Scheffey; Josephine & Christopher Schlank; Nancy & Richard Wolfson; Bunni and Paul Copaken /Copaken Family Foundation; William F. Koenigsdorf; and Cindy & Gary Schwartz.
installation views > click to enlarge
Springtide
Installation view
Photo: Aaron Igler
Springtide
Installation view
Photo: Aaron Igler
Springtide
Installation view
Photo: Aaron Igler
Springtide
Installation view
Photo: Aaron Igler
Springtide
Installation view
Photo: Aaron Igler
Springtide
Installation view
Photo: Aaron Igler
Additional support has been provided by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Dietrich Foundation Inc., the Overseers Board for the Institute of Contemporary Art, friends and members of ICA, and the University of Pennsylvania. (Information complete as of 1/3/05.)
Top: Louise Bourgeois, Page from Ode â l'Oubli (Ode to Forgetfulness) (detail), 2004, Hand-sewn and constructed cloth with lithography and digital printing,
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