[CONTACT]

[PREVIOUS] [NEXT]

Artist Seeks Paradise In Florida’s Swamps And Nursing Homes

Los Angeles-Based Artist Kerry Tribe To Present New Work at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions

Opening reception: Wednesday 29 October, 7 - 9 pm

Free Artist Talk: Wednesday 10 December at 7:30 pm

Exhibition runs 29 October - 28 December 2003

PRESS CONTACT: Julie Deamer 323.957.1777 x 17

LOS ANGELES, October 2003 – Kerry Tribe is a Los Angeles-based artist whose work explores the social, collective, and often idiosyncratic ways in which we represent our understanding of existence, memory and subjectivity. Florida, Tribe's new project for Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, consists of video, sound and photographs produced while on a residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts and during subsequent visits to several small towns in rural central Florida.

Described by the artist as "an extended meditation on an imaginary, Edenic site where people essentially go to die," the audio track is comprised of interviews Tribe conducted with elderly residents of nursing homes and retirement communities in the region. These tend toward the personal and particular (specific memories, desires, regrets) but also touch on larger philosophical topics as participants muse on the nature of paradise and death. Each voice is disembodied yet distinct; in the video the individuals are never seen. Instead, the projection features a series of meandering long takes, shot in Steadicam, of the Floridian landscape -- its lush savannas, dense jungles, and steamy swamps. Florida uses traditional documentary strategies as a point of departure, but the installation's sound and image loop independently from one another. This deliberate non-synching produces sensations of amnesia on one hand and on the other of déjà vu.

Organized by Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions’ Director/Curator Irene Tsatsos, Florida is Kerry Tribe's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles. Her work has been included in exhibitions and festivals internationally, including at The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, Bodybuilder & Sportsman Gallery in Chicago, The Project in Los Angeles, two Impakt Festivals in Utrecht, and The Sydney Film Festival. Tribe received her MFA from UCLA in 2002, was a Whitney Independent Study Program Fellow in 1997-98, and received her BA from Brown University in 1997.

A discussion with the artist will take place on Friday 5 December at 7:30 pm. For more on Kerry Tribe's work visit www.kerrytribe.com

Also at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions

Thursday 30 October 2003 from 7-9 pm
Panel Discussion -- "Curating Now,"
Panelists: Paul Foss, Irene Hoffman, Manray Hsu, and Maren Richter

29 October – 28 December 2003
Exhibition of new work by Swiss artist Christoph Büchel.

About Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions
Uniquely positioned among commercial galleries and major art institutions, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions distinguishes itself by serving as a laboratory for artistic research and unfettered, positive creative expression, where artists—including newly-emerging and under-represented artists as well as more established artists—have the freedom and the opportunity to take risks. The organization originated in 1978 from a need for a Los Angeles venue that supports, exhibits, and advocates innovations in art-making. Since its inception, the organization has presented the work of over 5000 artists in over 3000 exhibitions, performances, screenings, and works of public art.
Admission to Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions is free with a recommended donation of $3.00 ($2.00 students, members free). Gallery hours are Wednesday – Sunday 12 - 6 pm, Friday 12 – 9 pm. Call 323.957.1777 for parking information, directions, and additional information. For more information about Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions and its programs please visit www.artleak.org.

Support for Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions and its programs comes from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, California Community Foundation Arts Funding Initiative, Getty Grant Program, Thornton S. Glide, Jr. and Katrina D. Glide Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Peter Norton Family Foundation, and the members of Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions.

[PREVIOUS] [NEXT]

[CONTACT]