NYAB Event - Sarah Cain "California does psychic"

Sarah Cain "California does psychic"

Sara Meltzer Gallery

This event has ended.

To inaugurate the transformation of Sara Meltzer Gallery into the new Sara Meltzer Gallery/ projects, the gallery presents California does psychic, a solo project by Los Angeles based artist, Sarah Cain. This project is done in collaboration with Miki Garcia of the Santa Barbara Contemporary Art Forum and Shamim Momin of L.A.N.D (both SBCAF and L.A.N.D will be presenting their own exhibitions of new work by Sarah Cain in 2011). The collaboration of these three projects will culminate in a three-part book co-produced by Sara Meltzer Gallery/ projects, SBCAF and L.A.N.D that will be launched in completion in fall 2011.

Cain has been on-site for one month exploring and altering the current physicality of the given space, a former garment manufacturing studio, located on the 3rd floor of 525-531 West 26th Street.

The site-specific painted installation traverses wall, floor, windows, and ceiling and includes several large canvases placed on and off the existing walls further redefining the state of the space. A deconstruction of the original gallery occurs via incisions into the canvases exposing the under structure. Growing out of the nuances of the raw space - brick walls, patch-worked wood floors, fluorescent lighting and exposed windows, a central composition unfolds.

The exhibition title California does psychic takes its name from a line written by the late, second-generation, New York School poet, Hannah Weiner.

Cain shares a connection with Hannah Weiner vis-à-vis their desire to challenge media through experimentation. Hannah Weiner is known for pioneering a methodology that focused on the intrinsic significance of personal relationships and the everyday, an approach Cain also employs.

An accompanying aspect of the exhibition is a poster created by Cain composed of multiple texts taken from postings by poets reflecting on Hannah Weiner’s life at the time of her passing. Cain created a synesthetic code for the alphabet and merged selected written memories into a single voice thereby creating a text piece that interconnects the poet and the artist.

An additional element to this installation will be a presentation of sound pieces curated by Matteah Baim, and includes works by contemporary New York based musicians: Leila Hekmat, Peter Zuspan, FANAL, Trevor Shimizu, GROWING, Leif Ritchey, Matteah Baim, and Los Angeles based Lucky Dragons. This sound component is in direct response to Cain's work and the exhibition title California does psychic, and will be played at the opening party as well as daily during gallery hours from 4pm - 4:40pm.