Bambi The Piazza, 1001-1013 N. Second Street, # 7

kim alsbrooks
Kim Alsbrooks, John Stock, oil on trash

Kim Alsbrooks: White Trash
main gallery

Andres Alverez: Nutrition Information
project space

June 2 - 27, 2010

Contact Info

The Piazza
1001-1013 N. Second Street, Suite 7
Philadelphia, PA 19123

tel 267-319-1374

iinfo@bambiproject.com
www.bambiproject.com

Gallery hours: Wednesday - Thursday, 1 - 7 pm; Friday 1 - 10 pm; Saturday - Sunday noon - 7 pm.


About the Exhibitions

Opening reception: First Friday, June 4, 6 - 10 pm

White Trash - main gallery
Kim Alsbrooks' White Trash series began in 2004. It was originally conceived as a broad statement against ideas about the social elite and their cultural values as romanticized in art history, museums, and books (which all depict their agreeable lifestyles, artifacts, and wars). These historical records often ignore the bulk of our past, which includes many classes of people, ways of life, and stories of wars that are not told and, most likely, have had the most impact on our culture and history. Consequently, it seems as though the most important facts have been discarded or "trashed."

She thought to challenge the ideals and perhaps level the playing field by depicting various sought after images on trash. Originally, this series included classical garden landscapes, fine houses, interiors and their accoutrements. Miniature portraits were painted for wealthy families on ivory in oval shapes.

The series of miniature portraits further became known as her "White Trash Family." She began with her own family, the Pringles, who are well represented in the city museum of South Carolina. She later represented other privileged, wealthy, or politically elite families. The irony is that she grew up as a suburban redneck on James Island, SC. The last few years have focused on the portraits in this series, but the new work at Bambi Gallery will uncover some of her original ideas on trash.

Most importantly is her technique. The trash is found flat on the street, without wrinkles in the center area. The graphics, ideally, need to be well centered. The images of the portraits are found and married to the trash in such a way that they are complimentary. The trash is gessoed in the oval shape; the image is drawn in graphite, painted in oils and then varnished.
Kim's work was recently seen in Juxtapose Magagine. click here to review the article

Nutrition Information - project space

Hailing from Medellin, Colombia - "The City of Eternal Spring," Andrés Alvarez came to Scranton, Pennsylvania -- the so-called "Electric City" -- during the 2008 - 2009 year to work as a Foreign Language Teaching Assistant in the World Languages and Cultures Department at The University of Scranton, a position he received through the prestigious Institute for International Education. He used to work for German hotshot on-site-sculptor Michael Beutler, from whom he acquired a fascination for painting landscapes and nature.

During his time in Scranton, Andrés was both scholar and tourist, hoping to polish up his English in preparation for a Ph.D. while seeing much of the typical landscapes that are associated with American popular culture in the meantime. Much of this only resulted in what he calls "visual bulimia," where seeing things for the sake of seeing them prevented having more meaningful experiences of the American culture. Thus, Andrés turned to his recycling bin and utilized empty cereal boxes and other garbage that, for him, spoke of his experience living amongst a bunch of poor college kids. By painting mundane Scranton landscapes on food packaging materials, he hopes to address the American tendency to develop, market, and consume not only goods and products, but spaces and places as well.


Image copyright © 2010 Bambi Gallery and Kim Alsbrooks

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