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Urban Interactions, Curated by Meaghan Kent

SITE95 at the Hillyer Art Space, Hillyer Art Space, NIN9 Members’ Gallery, 9 Hillyer Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

October 4 – October 26, 2013

Opening: Friday, October 4, 2013, 6-9pm

Gallery Talk: October 26, 2:30pm

Download the exhibition brochure: Exhibition Guide

SITE95 and the Hillyer Art Space are pleased to present, “Urban Interactions,” an exhibition curated by Meaghan Kent. “Urban Interactions” focuses on work that is performative and/or physically engaged with the urban environment. The exhibition derives from the SITE95 multi-city series, “City Limits.” Thinking in terms of their surroundings, artists in the exhibition present ideas that are social, political, culturally progressive, and often reactionary. Participating artists include: Bobby Davidson, Rebecca Hackemann, Antoine Lefebvre, Patrick McDonough, Ruben Millares, Jenny Odell, E. Brady Robinson, and Antonia Wright.

“Urban Interactions” is comprised of documentation, ephemera, photographs, video, and sculpture. The exhibition activates a dialogue by questioning how our surroundings impact our lives and how this environment is utilized as a tool in creating work and disseminating meaning. Several presented works are either modes of documentation of the actions marked by the artists or are created site-specifically to engage with the public, serving as kinds of public interventions and exchanges. The actions themselves are symbolic, even poetic, of the circumstances the artists are engaged in and affected by in contemporary settings.

Projects planned with the environment often yield surprising results because the process of making the work is as integral to the piece as the object itself on display. Quick moments and gestures may create sleek presentations that appear otherworldly, as is the case with Bobby Davidson’s “It’s You We’re After,” or recall the battle between man and nature, as seen in the brightly colored wired weavings found on side streets in Ruben Millares’ project, “Mending the Void.” The work of E. Brady Robinson hovers between public and private as she creates intimate, voyeuristic images of personal office spaces of individuals in the DC Art World. Jenny Odell’s “Re-enactments” not only identifies modern technological advances, but also functions as a reminder of everyday routines and the impossibility of recreating a specific moment in time. Antonia Wright abuses her body by rolling through the back alleys of Miami, calling attention to the destruction of war and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. And the sculptural work of Patrick McDonough, Antoine Lefebvre, and Rebecca Hackemann directly engages the public while simultaneously utilizing unused space, creating a place and moment for the public to experience.

Special thanks to Kourtney Klinger (Drexel University) and Nicolas Baran (Kansas State University) for Fabrication Assistance for work by Rebecca Hackemann.

SITE95 is an alternative non-profit organization established to present exhibitions for emerging and established artists in temporary urban locations. Drawing upon available space in major cities, SITE95 will present over five projects per year, each extending up to two months. The impermanent sites create a platform for artists and curators to present innovative ideas in different contexts and allow viewers to experience new work not native to their location. Exhibitions will offer openings, educational talks and tours, screenings, and performances. SITE95 also features the online Journal with contributions by writers, curators, and artists. site95.org

Hillyer Art Space is a contemporary gallery dedicated to serving the public with quality exhibitions and programming. Established in April 2006, Hillyer is a program of International Arts & Artists, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally. Hillyer presents a dual series of exhibition programs in its three-room space. Exhibitions feature artists from the mid-Atlantic region—particularly the DC area—and works by international artists. We are focused on helping underexposed artists, whether they are emerging or established, to showcase their work. artsandartists.org/hillyer