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Buhmann on Art, Week of July 24, 2014

Cui Fei: “Leaves” | 2014 | Mixed media | 8 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches (21.6 x 10.8 x 3.8 cm).  Courtesy of the artist
Cui Fei: “Leaves” | 2014 | Mixed media | 8 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches (21.6 x 10.8 x 3.8 cm). Courtesy of the artist

BY Stephanie Buhmann  (stephaniebuhmann.com)  |  This collaborative artist project was inspired by Colson Whitehead’s 1999 fiction novel of the same name, which explores the relationships between progress, technology and difference.

Patrick Earl Hammie: “Platform” | 2014 | Oil on mylar | 84 x 11 inches (213.36 x 27.94 cm).   Courtesy of the artist
Patrick Earl Hammie: “Platform” | 2014 | Oil on mylar | 84 x 11 inches (213.36 x 27.94 cm). Courtesy of the artist

Pondering how the collection, the database, and the aggregate serve as complementary models for the organization of information and objects in flux, artists Heather Hart, Steffani Jemison and Jina Valentine have invited over 60 members of the Drawing Center’s substantial Viewing Program — which has offered emerging artists the opportunity to include their work in a curated Artist Registry since 1977 — to submit artworks specifically responding to a word or phrase from Whitehead’s novel.

Kenny Cole: “MDNJPN” | 2014 | Gouache on paper | 8 1/2 x 7 inches (21.6 x 17.8 cm).  Courtesy of Aucocisco Gallery
Kenny Cole: “MDNJPN” | 2014 | Gouache on paper | 8 1/2 x 7 inches (21.6 x 17.8 cm). Courtesy of Aucocisco Gallery

In addition, each item in the exhibition is hung according to the sequence determined by Whitehead’s text. Meanwhile, the Lab gallery features collaboration by Hart, Jemison and Valentine, inspired by a paragraph from the novel, using its words and letters to form an interpretive drawing.

THE INTUITIONISTS
Through Aug. 24
At The Drawing Center
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