Exhibition extended at Kinkead Contemporary in LA
Kinkead Contemporary is pleased to announce that Heather Cantrell's exhibition, A Study in Portraiture: Act 1, curated by Caryn Coleman, will be extended through August 15, 2009.
Heather Cantrell - A Study in Portraiture: Act 1
June 20 - August 15, 2009
Curated by Caryn Coleman
Opening reception Saturday, June 20, 6-9pm.
Heather Cantrell, A Study in Portraiture (Laura Howe), 2008. Silver rag archival ink jet. Ed. Unique (2 A.P.s), 15" X 12.5".
A Study in Portraiture deals with the subversion and altering of identity through portraiture and how those issues manifest themselves through Heather Cantrell's exploration of tribes and subcultures, specifically those of the art world. The project explores her usage of theatricality and references to historical artworks within her chosen medium of photography to document the performative. Involving much more than mere photography, Cantrell's artistic practice entails a conceptual strategy that incorporates performance, theater, painting, sculpture, and sociology. The resulting photographic image represents this in one captured moment with all its beautiful ambiguity and intrigue - it is a 'play-still.'
Kinkead Contemporary will be turned into an "in-house" photography studio for Heather Cantrell's A Study in Portraiture: Act I where members of the Los Angeles art community will be invited to participate in the performative act of having their portrait taken. Using hand-painted backdrops and a variety of costume and prop materials, Cantrell pushes her role as a director, embracing ideas of the theater, by making each exhibition of A Study in Portraiture an act in a play (hence the titling "Act I" and "Act II" etc.) where each individual has the ability to realize and portray a character. Referencing West African photographers Seydou Keita and Malick Sidibe as well as the 18th century society portraits of British painter Thomas Gainsborough, she addresses the subject's complicity in constructed identity and the role the artist also has in creating this. Like these artists, she does this while simultaneously documenting a generation - hers being an ethnographic exploration in the exclusivity of the contemporary art world.
Cantrell's portrait studio will remain in the main gallery throughout the exhibition functioning as the site for scheduled sessions throughout the show (these will occur both privately and publicly) and as an installation object when not in use. Also on display will be selected framed portraits and a wall where small photographs will be added as each session occurs. The website www.studyinportraiture.com is a documentary component to the series featuring project history, images of the sessions, portrait photographs, news, and interviews.
For more info on me visit my official website
www.rickyday.net
