Guest Juror: Laura McPhee, Professor of Photography at
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Opening Reception: August 8, 2008, 7:00pm-9:00pm
80 Border Street, East Boston, August 8, 2008 – From August 8 to 29, 2008, Atlantic Works Gallery presents SAFE, the third annual national juried exhibition, which brings together contemporary artists working in sculpture, photography, and painting to explore the word “SAFE.”
From orange alert to removing shoes and liquids for FAA security, this decade is largely define by a desperate scramble to rebuild the feeling that we are safe. But safety is an illusion that can be torn away without notice. This fragile protection is the subject of “SAFE”, in which 18 artists explore the delicate boundaries of survival.
“The concept of an orderly, systemized world constantly ruptures to reveal elements that I find seductive, brutal, contradictory and absurd,” explains New York City’s James Jaxxa about his seemingly whimsical, yet provocative work.
Artist Francois DeCosterd, from Charlestown, MA, remarks on his series “Baghdad Surrender, “This work addresses the playfully deceptive nature of photography through the image construct. Aerial photography, especially satellite imagery, tends to aestheticize our planet and bury its ugly side.”
Heyward Hart, of Somerville, MA, states that “The perception of safety is inseparable from that of familiarity. I photograph scenes on the periphery of our everyday experience with nature, where familiarity and safety coexist with anxiety and wonder.”
The artists participating are Patricia Berube, Stephanie Cardon, Francois Decosterd, Leigh Hall, Susan Harmon, Heyward Hart, James Jaxxa, Yasemin Kackar-Demirel, Sandra Matthews, Helen McClernon, Jen Morris, Gillian Pears, Irina Rozovsky, Chris Scala, Scott Patrick Wiener, David Whippen, Jeanne Williamson, and Tim D. Zeitler.
> The public is invited to attend the OPENING RECEPTION on Friday, August 8 from 7 to 9 pm and to visit the gallery Fridays, 2-6 pm and Saturdays, 2-6 pm. >The public is also invited to Atlantic Works Gallery’s monthly THIRD THURSDAY GATHERING on August 21, 6-9 pm. > To schedule a private press viewing and interview at a more convenient time, please contact Todd Fairchild, (617) 872-2432.
Founded in 2003, Atlantic Works Gallery, “East Boston’s Collaborative Space for Art and Ideas,” is a member-operated gallery located on the top floor of 80 Border Street on the waterfront of East Boston. It is T-accessible (near the Maverick T stop on the Blue Line), and parking space is usually ample. For detailed directions and other information about members and past and future shows, please see atlanticworks.org.