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Catharine Clark Gallery

October 4 - November 16, 2008

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248 Utah Street
 San Francisco, CA 94103
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The Word Hot Huge, 2004, Pigment Print, Edition of 3
Catharine Clark Gallery announces the concurrent solo exhibitions: The Word, new text-based work by Ray Beldner, and A Fugitive, Some Maps, Cute Animals and a Shark, video and mixed media projects by Nina Katchadourian. An opening reception for the artists is on Saturday, 4 October, 4–6pm. In conjunction with the solo exhibitions the gallery will host a book signing for the introduction of Charles Gute’s book Revisions and Queries, published by The Ice Plant. In this publication Gute, a conceptual artist and editor of art publications, presents more than 50 drawings that he developed from corrected publisher’s proofs. In these drawings the originally authored texts are removed and his edits remain, forming images. The resulting works on paper resemble line drawings, choreographic markings, or musical notations. Prior to the opening, from 3–4pm, the gallery will host a panel discussion: Mistakes Were Made, with speakers Charles Gute, Nina Katchadourian, and Ray Beldner musing on the subject of mistakes as a source for their artistic practices. The panel will be moderated by independent curator and writer, Marcia Tanner. Ray Beldner’s The Word is a new body of sculptural/text-based work. Much of the work in the exhibit originates from the artist’s personal challenge to make form from text. The sources for Beldner’s texts are found notes, advertisements, desperate pleas on homeless signs, biblical quotes and the hate-talk heard on right wing talk radio shows. The language takes shape as life-size, gold-leafed figures, neon signs, collections of toy soldiers, and cast concrete blocks, among other things. Beldner astutely pairs the found text with a medium that is often incompatible with the message--visual non sequiturs that nonetheless uphold the meaning in the word. In The Word, the texts act as visual symbols and the forms allow the viewer to uncover the irony, hypocrisy, and absurdity of the message. Born in San Francisco, Beldner received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Masters of Fine Arts from Mills College. He is the recipient of grants from the California Arts Council, Creative Work Fund, Potrero Nuevo, and the Ruth Chenven Foundation. In 2009, his work will be included in Inventing Marcel Duchamp: The Dynamics of Portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington D. C., Redesign: Transforming the Ordinary, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, Nevada. Recently he has exhibited in Material Abuse at CliffordGallery, ColgateUniversity, Hamilton, NY, and in Greetings From the American Dream, RiversideArt Museum, Riverside, CA. This is his third solo exhibition with Catharine Clark Gallery.
The Word Presidential Doily (Washington)
The Word We Are the Change that We Seek, 2008, Mixed Media