The Department of Art & Art History at Stanford University is pleased to present Very Close to Far Away on view from January 13 to February 22, 2009, with a reception on January 16, from 6-8 PM at the Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery. Very Close to Far Away is an exhibition that introduces four first year MFA graduate students in Art Practice to the Stanford, Greater Bay Area and art communities. Jeremiah Barber, Jamil Hellu, Juan Luna-Avin and Armando Miguélez come from varied backgrounds that bring an eclectic blend of global nomads. As curator Terry Berlier states, “As the title of the exhibition alludes to, there is something both intimate and remote in the work here. Yet, they all use the essence of archiving whether through the personal, the cultural or the global.”
Jeremiah Barber presents “In Extremis,” a performance with Ingrid Rojas in November 2008, in which two figures are dragging each other across a sandy desert floor, one straining to the point of collapse, while the other lays at rest until suddenly getting up and resuming the work of the other. That the figures are male and female, a couple, suggests an allegory of relational struggle as they are bound together in their motion, yet move at the consequence of one.
Jamil Hellu's photographs, while embodying different approaches, are composed as metaphors for personal emotions, a prologue to what is yet to come, as he experiments with different ways of communicating through the photographic medium and digital color printing. In a series of photographs titled “Subjects Unknown,” he uses images to reflect his concerns regarding sexuality in relation to identity and the public display of affection between two men.
Juan Luna-Avin's works combine his Mexican background with his life-long fascination with music. He displays three projects: untitled paintings that are digital prints on canvas, appropriated from hand-made rock concert fliers or song lists having to do with punk music and culture, that are either drawn or collaged; “Untitled (We Built this City),” small-scale, hand-painted ceramic reproductions of 23 amplifiers set on a table that resembles a stage; and “¡Chale!,” (loosely translates to “Whoa!” in English), a vinyl piece based on one of his favorite music catch phrases.
Armando Miguélez's piece titled “Tower” is a collection of images of vertical buildings from around the world. The only common denominator among these images is that they are large modern edifices. They are black and white plotter prints that are pinned to the wall in a grid. Regardless of the buildings' conditions, they speak of the rise and fall of power in a broad sense, reflecting both a sad comment on the decay of modernity and a straightforward assessment of the evolution of these modern structures.
VISITOR INFORMATION: Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 AM—5 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 1-5 PM. Admission is free. The Gallery is located in the Stanford campus, off Palm Drive at 419 Lasuen Mall. Parking is free after 4 PM and all day on weekends. Information: (650) 723-2842, website.