Americas Remixed
CURATED BY
Roberto Pinto, Euridice Arratia, Jen Budney and Franlìklin Sirmans
WORKS BY
Tracy Baran, Mcarthur Binion, Lori Blondeau, Iona Brown, Patty Chang, William Cordova, Stephanie Diamond, Kevin Ei-Ichi De Forest, Shelley Eshkar, Rico Gatson, Diego Gutierrez, Jennie J. Jones, Lennon Jno Baptiste, Paul Kaiser, Corine Lemieux, Dave McKenzie, Robyn Moody, David Opdyke, Esther Partegas, Rammelzee, Bentley Spang, Jeff Thomas.
From 23.09.2002 to 27.10.2002
In the spaces of Careof and laboratory space Openspace in Via Marconi 1
The exhibition, promoted by the Youth Department of the City of Milan and conceived by Roberto Pinto with Euridice Arratia, Jen Budney, and Franklin Sirmans, features works by 22 young American artists invited to engage with the theme of Identity and Communication.
The exhibition explores new trends in contemporary art in North America, a geographical area that has been a destination for immigration for over five centuries, where numerous ethnicities and different cultures merge and coexist.
The curators are not U.S. citizens—except for Franklin Sirmans—but live or have lived for a long time in New York: Euridice Arratia is Venezuelan, Jen Budney is Canadian. Their perspective is therefore shaped by that “American” culture composed of various origins and influences. Coordinated by Roberto Pinto, they have selected artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, from ethnic and religious majorities and minorities, who, through their works—paintings, videos, photographs, installations—reflect on the current state of North American society, seeking to identify its artistic and cultural identity. These are young people questioning the redefinition of the self in relation to the other, to those around them. What emerges is a multifaceted and complex portrait that touches emotional and passionate chords, ironic, but at times also provocative and irreverent: an exhibition with many faces and, naturally, many identities.
On the occasion of the opening, the following artists will be present: Lorie Blondeau, Patty Chang, Paul Kaiser, Jenny J. Jones, Corina Lemieux, Robin Moody, Rammelzee, Jeff Thomas.
The curators
The American curators, coordinated by Roberto Pinto, are young critics who have already gained significant professional experience in New York and other cities around the world.
Euridice Arratia, Venezuelan, graduated in Art History from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, with a specialization from New York University. She has curated numerous exhibitions, including Made in America, at the Centro Arte Contemporanea at Palazzo delle Papesse in Florence, and Boundless: Videos by Latin American Artists, at Cinema Tropical and Artists Space in New York. A member of the College Art Association, she was associate producer of the documentary La Tropical (2000) directed by David Turnley, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Jen Budney, Canadian, graduated in Liberal Arts from the University of Alberta and is currently completing a specialization in Anthropology. After working as artistic coordinator for Gallery 101 in Ottawa, she curated Stranger Knocking with Roberto Pinto, the exhibition that represented Italy at the first edition of the Melbourne International Biennale held in Australia in 1999. She also curated Francesca Woodman, a solo show of the young American artist at the Galleria Civica d’Arte in Modena.
Franklin Sirmans, from New York, holds two degrees—in Art History and English Literature—from Wesleyan University in Middletown. He collaborates with various newspapers and magazines including The New York Times and Newsweek International. Between 1997 and 1998, he served as editor-in-chief of Flash Art International Magazine. Assistant to Richard Marshall in curating the exhibition dedicated to Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Whitney Museum in 1992, he has overseen numerous exhibitions in Europe, Asia, and North America and has published several contemporary art catalogues. Among the exhibitions he has curated are: New York, New York: Big City of Dreams (Milan, 1999); Video Art: Past and Present at Gallery C.A.I.S. in Seoul (1999); One Planet Under a Groove held at the Bronx Museum in 2001.
