"Celestial Dome" Exhibition
Trestle Gallery (at Brooklyn Art Space)
This event has ended.
The exhibition, Celestial Dome, presents artworks exploring the physical nature of the sky and it's meaning. A blue sky is an optical illusion of the most extended part of the light spectrum, whereas a night sky becomes a transparent dome and a window to the stars and planets of the universe. Existing between the upper atmosphere and stratosphere it unites all continents, islands, oceans and people. It can make us feel connected- giving us a feeling of limitless possibilities- or, make us feel isolated and lonely within an empty void. It simultaneously protects and prevents: acting as a safe haven from the uncontrollable forces in the universe but also as a barrier that limits our 'freedom' because we can't move beyond it. For some the sky's dual nature may also represent a tendency to create borders between themselves and the outside world. However we define the sky, it is everywhere yet intangible. Celestial Dome celebrates the sky by presenting works by artists who look towards the physical world above us to cultivate ideas of space, light, and boundlessness.
By cropping the images of clouds and vapor trails Katsuhiro Saiki's images are at once abstract and
representational. The deep radiant blue of the sky contrasts brilliantly behind the white canvas of the clouds with light reflecting in explosive and subtle tones. Saiki places the images on the floor, further taking the subject matter out of context and challenging the medium as a photographic sculpture.
Yukari Edamitsu's peers into the night sky with her photo-based collages that bring the moon, planets, and
galaxies closer to her vision and consciousness with their kaleidoscopic deconstruction. Edamitsu mixes
photographs and scanned images of the universe to create her version of the night sky. The work reveals the
celestial entities that surround us, bringing an almost invisible world into a sublime and mysterious focus.
Bird on a Wire is an interactive display of a set of birds perched on telephone wires with a colorful sky in the
background created by Ben Light, Christie Leece, Inessah Selditz and Matt Richardson. The birds are set into
motion by calling a number which allows the caller to listen as the bird flies away into the pink, purple and blue sky. The sky feels and acts as a boundless space as the listener watches the animals disappear into saturated colors.
In Kasia Gumpert's work advertisements of exotic getaways under star-filled celestial skies are juxtaposed with a hand holding a device to create tension of wanting an intangible thing or place; a desire to reach this real yet inaccessible space is a powerful dialogue between fantasy and reality.
The monotypes of Shingo Francis are part of a body of work which pairs down an image bordering landscape
and the abstract. The blue palette and subtle two-toned monochrome associate the image a landscape yet so little detail remains for the viewer to be absolute. Francis plays between this ambiguous line between what seems to be and what may not be.
Media
Schedule
from March 15, 2013 to April 14, 2013
Opening Reception on 2013-03-15 from 19:00 to 21:00