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Mercury 20 Gallery

September 2 - September 26, 2010

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475 25th Street Oakland, CA 94612
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Not For Sale Truth Scope, 2010, steel and paper
Opening Reception: Friday, September 3 from 6-9pm (in conjunction with Oakland Art Murmur Artists’ Talk: Saturday, September 4, 2010, 2:00 pm. Meet the artists and hear them talk about their work In Not For Sale, Laura van Duren introduces her most recent sculpture, drawings and a large installation that explore the current state of slavery and personal responses to confinement. A twelve-foot interactive sculpture made of steel and paper dominates the space of this solo exhibition. The juxtaposition of these opposing materials illustrates the strength and weakness that exists in the human condition. Van Duren explicitly references struggle by using antique books about war, slavery and personal conflict to create a large paper cone that rises from five-foot steel legs welded into the shape of tree branches. Viewers are invited to climb into the sculpture and stand inside the paper cone. Once under the cone, they find themselves inside a bird cage looking out to see a flock of birds escaping. Van Duren will also be displaying smaller works made from recycled cast-offs from a suburban landfill. Old drawers from kitchen remodels are transformed into wall sculptures that depict birds interacting with their entrapment. Confinement and regeneration are continuing themes in this body of work. In recognition of the current reality of human trafficking in the San Francisco Bay Area and the world, van Duren will donate a percentage of sales from this exhibition to the nonprofit organization Not For Sale. The Not For Sale campaign equips and mobilizes "smart activists" to deploy innovative solutions to re-abolish slavery in their own backyards and across the globe. To learn more about Not For Sale go to: http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/about. Laura van Duren was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which has a rich history rooted in the steel industry. After receiving her B.F.A. with an emphasis in painting and illustration from Carnegie Mellon University she continued to find her niche as an artist working as a graphic designer, an art school teacher and a public health illustrator in Kenya and Costa Rica. Van Duren has been sculpting with clay for the past 20 years, however in the last 4 she has returned to her "steel" roots by welding and casting in iron, bronze and aluminum. These mold-making adventures have led her to experiment with castings resin, sugar, salt and any other medium that will cooperate. www.lauravanduren.com