July 5–August 5, 2011
Curated by Jessica Cochran
Presented by the Contemporary Arts Council
C33 Gallery
Columbia College Chicago
33 E Congress Parkway
Hours:
Mon–Wed & Fri 9am–5pm and
Thurs. 9am–7pm
www.colum.edu/Student_Life/DEPS/index.php
www.contemporaryartscouncil.org
Exhibiting Artists
Alberto Aguilar, Pamela Bannos, Viv Corringham, Adam Farcus, Regan Golden, Bill Guy, Kirsten Leenaars, Daniel Mellis, Ryan B. Richey, Michael X. Ryan, Fred Sasaki, Allison Yasukawa, Mary Lou Zelazny
Events:
Opening Reception: Wednesday, July 6, 5–7pm
Gallery Panel Discussion: Thursday, August 4, 6pm
About the Exhibition
In today’s content-starved society of the “24 hour news cycle,” it is not unusual to see reality shows and headlines hyper-focused on “unexceptional” people—but what about an art exhibition? Re-creating this model within the context of the art world, This is Paul Halupka is an exhibition of artworks about one person—a young man named Paul Halupka, a near stranger from the curator’s past. Though not legitimized by media or celebrity culture, Paul’s identity has been ushered into a spotlight and granted symbolic value in the form of an art exhibition.
Curator Jessica Cochran asked 13 emerging and mid-career artists to get to know Paul Halupka in order to create work in dialogue with his identity. Embracing less representational approaches to portraiture in favor of more discursive ones, artists’ projects reflect poetic and relational approaches to the depiction of Paul’s identity through painting, sculpture, video, photography and mixed media installation.
The resulting exhibition reveals the ways that artists mediate subjectivity in complex ways that reveal perception of the other as both felt and learned. The exhibition makes way for a speculative experience that engenders a more complex consideration of not only Paul, but of how representations of identity circulate within spheres of communication, social networks and society in general.
A full catalog has been published on the occasion of the exhibition, featuring texts by Jessica Cochran (exhibition curator), Karsten Lund (independent curator and critic) and Fred Sasaki (Associate Editor, Poetry). An extension of the show itself, the catalog, designed by Ryan Swanson, features graphic marginalia based on statistics culled from Paul Halupka’s virtual presence on Facebook, tumblr and Google searches.
About the Contemporary Arts Council
The Contemporary Arts Council (CAC) is an independent not-for-profit organization founded in 1994 by a group of art enthusiasts devoted to supporting Chicago-area contemporary art and artists, and expanding members’ appreciation of the diversity of Chicago’s arts scene. The CAC’s mission is to support, learn about and enjoy the Chicago-area art scene with an interesting group of like-minded art enthusiasts including artists, collectors and business and professional people of all types. CAC funds a professionally-curated annual exhibition and catalog, featuring contemporary and emerging Chicago-area artists. www.contemporaryartscouncil.org
DEPARTMENT OF EXHIBITION AND PERFORMANCE SPACES (DEPS)
DEPS is the student-centered galleries, performance spaces and student art store of Columbia College. An extension of the classroom, DEPS fosters vibrant environments in which students can view and showcase bodies of work within the larger urban community. DEPS is committed to producing the most innovative, distinguished, and accessible exhibitions and to addressing contemporary issues concerning the diversity of thought, values, and culture. The DEPS calendar includes annual exhibitions of featured Columbia students as well as new work by internationally renowned artists.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Visit the Department of Exhibition and Performance Spaces webpage: www.colum.edu/deps
CONTACT
Exhibition information:
Press inquiries: [email protected]