P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is pleased to present the first of an ongoing series, Orpheus Selection, inspired by the museum's unique basement boiler room and the classical myth of Orpheus, the bard who attempted —unsuccessfully—to rescue his bride Eurydice from the underworld. In Search of Darkness, the first iteration of the series, is on view from June 24 to September 24, 2007.
Like the poet's descent into hell, Orpheus Selection: In Search of Darkness is an exploration into the unearthly and unknown, where both abstract and figurative works are charged with unsettling energy. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, installations, sculptures, video works, and photographs by an intergenerational group of artists who are primarily based in the United States.
Nicolas Carone, Yayoi Kusama, and Jack Whitten will exhibit works possessing a mysterious power generated by the conjoining of painterly gestures and notions of chance. Gandalf Gaván, Tamara Gonzales, and Chris Martin transform the architecture of the boiler room into ritualistic site-specific installations. Kim Jones' labyrinthine War Drawing obsessively maps the uncharted territory of memory while Peter Acheson, Maury Colton III, and Joan Waltemath explore the unfettered possibilities of dark imagery in abstract painting. Katherine Bradford, on the other hand, employs figurative painting to explore the possibilities of illumination and its power to break through darkness. William Lamson's surreal video, resonates with Bobby Neel Adams' and Andreas Gehrke's eerie photographs. In a different vein, Katie Aliprando's enigmatic and ephemeral mixed media work reinforces the distorted configuration of Robert Lazzarini's Manhole sculpture.
The 22 participating artists are Peter Acheson (b. 1954), Katie Aliprando (b. 1983), Katherine Bradford (b. 1942), Nicolas Carone (b. 1917), Maury Colton III (b. 1948), Gandalf Gaván (b. 1975), Andreas Gehrke (b. 1978), Tamara Gonzales (b. 1959), Kim Jones (b. 1944), Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929), William Lamson (b. 1978), Robert Lazzarini (b. 1965), Jim Long (b. 1949), Chris Martin (b. 1954), Jonas Mekas (b. 1922), Bobby Neel Adams (b. 1953), Michael Ryan (b. 1953), Bob Thompson (1937-66), Don Voisine (b. 1948), Tomas Vu (b. 1963), Joan Waltemath (b. 1953), and Jack Whitten (b. 1939).
Orpheus Selection: In Search of Darkness is organized by P.S.1 Curatorial Advisor Phong Bui.