Gallery

Miss Handled

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:58:26 -0500

A solo exhibition by Kathryn Fishbein
August 8 - 29, 2008

Miss Handled explores the complex relationships people have with the objects they collect. The show incorporates ceramic sculpture along with video art and other digital media. In the case of one piece, Cut from the Same Cloth, the artist uses a video projection in place of glaze over a wall of objects. A strong interest in the object as kitsch and as a repository for humor, social commentary, and personal confession is ubiquitous in this exhibition. Six foot long ceramic ladles spoon on satin pillows and lay in repose on a chaise lounge, expressing intimacy and domesticity through their human scale. Commemorative plates have become collector items and souvenirs, but what of the life or place they honor? By becoming a commodity the commemorative plate loses much of the personal intimacy and intrinsic meaning it was intended to have. In the group of plates collectively titled Palpably Unpalatable the artist examines the absence that is left in the environments and lives by people who have passed.

Kathryn Fishbein is currently completing her MFA at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the areas of ceramics and reproductive media. She is originally from Baltimore, MD where she earned her B.S. in ceramics at Towson University. She will become a new resident of Pittsburgh following this exhibition where she will complete an internship at the Society for Contemporary Craft. Fishbeins work has been shown on the east coast, including New York City and Pittsburgh. This will be her first solo exhibition.

Interior Spaces

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:50:19 -0500

A solo exhibition of new works by Aasta Deth
August 8 - 29, 2008

Interior Spaces explores themes of interaction between the individual/interior and the outside world. The works become the seat of memory, a source of longing and loss which forge a bond of belonging. The metaphor of the home space has been used as a vehicle to introduce elements of the personal and autobiographical. The quiet approach of the found object and photograph maintain enough of a barrier to do this without being exposed.

Aasta Deth received her BFA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Interior Spaces is presented as her graduate thesis exhibition for her MFA degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She will receive a major in sculpture and a minor in print media. Originally from Buffalo, NY, Aasta now resides in western Pennsylvania.

Dilated Dialogs: A Photographic Perspective

Sun, 11 May 2008 13:21:56 -0500

A conversation between Americans capturing images abroad and foreign-born artists in the States.

April 28 - May 24, 2008
Gallery Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday

Opening Reception - Friday, April 25, 6 - 10 p.m.
Part of the free Cultural District Gallery Crawl

Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery, 3rd Floor
937 Liberty Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh - 15222

Dilated Dialogs is a photographic conversation between Americans traveling abroad and foreign-born artists living and working in the United States. The exchange explores ideas of globalization, incorporation, identity, labels, religion and cultural context.

Dilated Dialogs examines the perspective of "the foreigner." Both the visitor and the country visited assume the role of the foreigner, as each is foreign to the other. Foreign-born artists living and working in the United States experience another level of this, as they may view both their U.S. home and their native countries as foreign.

This exhibition questions those things that artists see and photograph while exploring a foreign culture. What seems foreign or worth investigating to the photographic eye? How are cultures interpreted and perceived by "foreigners" Dilated Dialogs includes images of or by artists from the United States, Colombia, Greece, Germany, Cuba, Mexico, Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Israel, Italy and Puerto Rico -- which falls in the delightfully disturbing "in between" category.

Contributing artists:
Karin Bergdolt
Don Gogniat
Carolina Loyola-Garcia
Sunyoung Kim
Jung Yoon Lee
Oscar Palacio
Ricardo Muniz
Stephanie Mayer-Stayley
Andres Tapia-Urzua
Chris Taylor

Curated by Tavia LaFollette of Artists Upstairs

Image credit: Oscar Palacio: Plymouth