16 September - 02 October 2005
Openin
g Reception: 15 September at 8:00 pm.
Erin Coates\, Leanne Co
ughlin\, Babak Golkar\, Peter Mintchev\, Daria Tavoularis and
While the idiom derives from racetrack lingo (referring to the suitability of different horses for different courses)\, Horses for Courses points to the diverse practices of the Master of Fine A rts graduates presented in this exhibition. This is an excellent opportunit y to view the work of six emerging artists who work in the mediums of video \, sculpture\, performance and drawing.
Erin Coates' artwork focuses on structures that mediate the urban experience: telecommu nications\, transit networks\, street furniture and signage\, architectural forms\, and surveillance systems. Her work articulates alternative modes o f seeing and framing urban space. It brings into view what is within the vi sual periphery\, the ‘blind spot’ of the familiar\, and what is overseen by urban design.
Using the domestic interior as a site of inquiry\,
Through his performances\, < strong>Babak Golkar has been examining the role of art in terms of its public reception as well as the relationship between an object of art and the institution. Drawing on historical figures in art such as Joseph Be uys\, Golkar has been exploring and treating art as performative offerings in which he offers the object of art to the viewers as take-a-ways. These o fferings could take the form of an object such as a rose or food items\, an d gestures such as a quotation\, a smile\, or simple apology written on a b anner or poster.
Peter Mintchev's work often consist s of aesthetic gestures that aim to reconsolidate the way memory and hope b ecome integrated within political ideology. His recent work has been focuse d on the period of transition experienced in Eastern Europe following the f all of the Berlin Wall. Mintchev’s work is ambivalently positioned between personal contemplation and critical commentary.
In the work of
The artwork of Rahel Wach s often consists of elaborate collages\, where contemporary confli cts often become reduced to entrapping visual puzzles. Both textual and tac tile\, Wachs’ work superimposes historical references and the spectacle of today’s politics. Her latest work is based on the insertion of “Intelligent Design Theory” into the biology curriculum of some public schools in the U nited States.
For further information please contact: Naomi Sawad
a at naomi.sawada@ubc.ca
\,
tel: (604) 822-3640\, or fax: (604) 822-6689
Mor
ris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery
http://www.belkin.ubc.ca