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Opening Reception in the Kala Gallery, June 5, 6-8pm
Kala Fellowships are awarded annually to eight innovative artists working in print media, photography, book arts, installation, video and digital media. Fellowship artists are selected from a competitive field of applicants from the United States, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia. Recipient artists receive a financial award and up to six-months residency at Kala’s studio facility followed by an exhibition of their new work. The Kala Gallery is proud to present the first of our four-part exhibition series, Residency Projects, featuring work by our 2007-2008 Fellowship artists.
Bayeté Ross Smith utilizes the photographic medium as a means to investigate racial and cultural perceptions, stereotyping and societal interactions. For Residency Projects I, Bayeté is presenting work from two photographic projects that involve a unique approach to portraiture. Taking AIM features a series of portraits presented as shooting range targets that include an overlay of bull’s eye markings covering the face of each subject. Our Kind Of People examines the ways in which skin tone, clothing and personal style affect our ideas about identity, personality and character.
Prague-based artist Petra Vargova is well-known in Europe for her conceptual works that involve elements of virtual reality and PlayStation game technology with audio-kinetic objects and installations. Petra created two new works during her studio residency at Kala including 25 35, a pair of digital drawings and the conceptual/sculptural work that examines San Francisco’s street patterns and how they vary from the ancient layout of European cities.
The next presentation in our Residency Projects exhibition series will feature a one week gallery installation involving performative works by Kala Fellowship artist Malcolm Smith. Residency Projects II runs from July 12 – July 19, 2008.
