Welcome to My World, a group show curated by Jonathan Greene, will be on view from Thursday March 19 through Sunday April 19, 2009. An opening reception on Wednesday March 18 will preview the exhibition. The artists in this exhibition include Kevin Cyr, Andrew Junge, Billy Maker, Shawn Petterse... Read more
Welcome to My World, a group show curated by Jonathan Greene, will be on view from Thursday March 19 through Sunday April 19, 2009. An opening reception on Wednesday March 18 will preview the exhibition. The artists in this exhibition include Kevin Cyr, Andrew Junge, Billy Maker, Shawn Pettersen and Jean-Pierre Roy (shown in cooperation with RARE).
While diverse in the range and scale of work they present, the artists in Welcome to My World share similar approaches to their process, inspired by imagination to reinvent personal experiences, cultural identity, and fantasies into a visual language. The ad hoc combination of references and materials invites the viewer to enter both miniature and grandiose imaginary environments and situations, setting off on a journey of their own.
Kevin Cyr’s “Scaling the summit with the motherland in your heart” is the focus of a series of paintings based on his camper bike – a functioning, sculptural piece he built during a month-long residency in Beijing, China. It documents a proposed journey on the hybrid vehicle, an American style cab-over-camper balanced atop a Chinese delivery tricycle. Kevin received his BFA from Massachusetts College of Art.
Andrew Junge often transforms recycled or discarded materials into sweeping social references. From making a life-size Hummer out of Styrofoam, to delivering an illuminated message of hope inside a found tool box, Junge’s juxtapositions of material and message are sure to invoke a response. Andy holds a BFA from Boston University School of Fine Arts and an MFA from California College of Arts and Crafts.
Billy Maker fuses architectural landscapes with miniature dioramas to create his own multi-dimensional city of building blocks. Delicate yet strong, these intricate works engage each other in constant dialogue. Billy received his BFA from University of South Carolina.
Shawn Pettersen channels the thought of an animal into deep meditations on displacement, flight and adaptation. Shawn holds a BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design and an MFA from Montclair State University.
Jean-Pierre Roy creates iconic imaginary landscapes riddled with a cycle of world-building and world-destroying. Jean-Pierre received his BFA from Loyola Marymount University and his MFA from New York Academy of Art.
