We Came. We Saw. We Kicked Ass.
An American in Paris? - but of course! A Frenchman in San Diego? - splendide!
Paris artist Julien Colombier stands in front of a graffiti mural by Arizona writer KAI1, freshly painted behind the Art Produce Gallery where Julien is having his first solo exhibit in the US. Both artists, KAI1 and Julien, blew into San Diego to participate in their respective expositions with great fanfare and success.
Julien's show entitled "90 Grammes" will be on view through April 6, 2008 at the Art Produce Gallery, 3139 University Avenue, San Diego, CA 92104. Please call 619.584.4448 for more information and gallery hours. Or check out the review of the show at SignOnSanDiego.com here for a taste of what awaits you.
KAI1 is participating in "COPY" which is also on view at the Simayspace Gallery located within the Art Academy of San Diego, and features local San Diego artists Joey Burns and Richard Gleaves along with Kevin Freitas, Herve Crespel, Bret Barrett and Tom Torluemke. The Academy is located at 840 G Street downtown San Diego. Call 619.231.3900 for more information and opening hours. Check 'em both out, you'll be glad you did!
90 Grammes - the weight of kraft paper ....
COPY
The present age … prefers the sign to the thing signified, the copy to the original, fancy to reality, the appearance to the essence … for in these days illusion only is sacred, truth profane.
-- Ludwig Feuerbach
Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else.
-- Tom Peters
No.thing Works
-- Gordon Matta-Clark
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Artists: Joey Burns, Hervé Crespel, Kevin Freitas, Richard Gleaves, KAI1, Tom Torluemke
Show title: COPY
Show dates: March 7, 2008 –April 25, 2008
Reception: Friday, March 7 6-9pm
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 9am – 6pm & Saturday 9am – 1pm
Contact: Kevin Freitas (619.337.4891) or Doug Simay (619.231.3900)
Simayspace @ the Academy
The Art Academy of San Diego
840 G Street
San Diego, CA 92101
COPY features installation work and collages by San Diego artists Richard Gleaves and Joey Burns, drawings by French artist Hervé Crespel and by Indiana/Chicago artist Tom Torluemke, and a mural by Arizona graffitist KAI1. It also includes an opening-night performance by Kevin Freitas, San Diego arts writer and founder of the art blog www.artasauthority.com.
With roots back to the 14th century, the word copy has acquired many meanings and usages. The one most commonly used by artists and laymen alike is: “an imitation, transcript, or reproduction of an original work.” Yet this does not capture the unique ability of the copyist to diverge from the original, unintentionally or otherwise. This ability embodies the beauty and intrigue, the power that the copy holds over the original. It also embodies the beauty of the word itself, which can denote so many things: political, religious, social, artistic, sexual, mass-produced, and even terroristic.
In keeping with this theme the art and performance featured in COPY will be subjected to various acts and forms of copying, blurring the boundaries between copy and original, critic and artist, text and image. Whatever truths result will reside strictly in the eye of the beholder.
www.artacademyofsandiego.com