Resident Erik Ruin's Staring at the Cracks opens Thursday July 7!

 Staring at the Cracks

by  

40th Street Artist-in-Residence Erik Ruin

(with Brett Story & Dan Blacksberg)

July 7-24 

Local artist combines prints, projections and sound  

to tell stories of solitary confinement in temporary storefront gallery

CONTACT- Erik Ruin- erikruin@gmail.com 267.262.0208

Staring at the Cracks

Installation by Erik Ruin (with Brett Story and Dan Blacksberg)  

Opening Reception:
Thursday July 7 at 7pm  

Closing Reception:
Saturday July 23 at 3pm  

at: 4212 Chestnut St., 1st floor, Philadelphia 

Temporarily inhabiting an unoccupied suite of offices near Penn's campus, artist Erik Ruin is constructing a unique environment to share the emotions and experiences of formerly incarcerated people.  Visitors are greeted in the entrance hall by a wall-paper-like pattern of silkscreened scenes depicting the isolation and repetition of daily life in the hole. Other rooms are populated by shadow-puppet and video projections by Ruin and award-winning Toronto filmmaker Brett Story.  Speakers littered throughout the space play snippets of audio interviews with men and women describing their experiences in solitary confinement, interwoven with a unique and haunting bed of sound composed by innovative klezmer and jazz trombonist Dan Blacksberg.

At the opening reception Thursday July 7^th, from 7-9 PM, Blacksberg will perform a live improvisational accompaniment to this soundscape, wandering throughout the space and performing with and against the audio samples.

Additionally on this night, Hakim Ali and William Goldsby, both of Philadelphia prison-activist group Reconstruction and both interviewees for this project, will speak about their experiences and the work they have been doing since their release.

On Saturday July 23^rd,  West Philadelphia fixture Ruin will be bidding Philly farewell with an all-day studio sale, live music, and closing reception. 3-11pm

Other viewings by appointment- contact 40th.AIR.app@gmail.com or 40thair.program@gmail.com

to schedule.

LOCATION- 4212 Chestnut Street (below Scribe Video Center), West Philly  

BIOs Erik Ruin is a Philly-based printmaker, shadow-puppeteer, occasional editor of various publications (including the anthology Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority with Josh MacPhee, AK Press, 2007) and a founding member of the Justseeds Artists' Cooperative. He is currently a 40th Street Artist-in-Residence.   Brett Story is a Montreal based filmmaker with roots in radio, print, experimental super8 film, live performance projections and documentary. Dan Blacksberg is a trombonist who is working to expand the range of the trombone in jazz and improvised music. He is also one of the premiere trombonists in the world of Klezmer.

Chris Lawrence at AirSpace

www.chrislawrenceprojects.com

AirSpace
4007 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Exhibition:
June 17- July 16, 2011
Artist’s ReceptionSaturday June 25, 6-9PM
Gallery Hours:Sat-Sun 12-5pm + by appointment

Read coverage in the Philadelphia Weekly: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/arts-and-culture/art/Chris-Lawrence-Installation-Airspace-West-Philadelphia.html

40th Street AirSpace is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of current artist-in-residence Chris Lawrence. Working in a variety of disciplines and materials, Lawrence’s work often references an intersection of DIY construction, improvised shelters, industrial stations and theatrical sets in various stages of frustrated or unavailable functionality. Overlapping fantasies, incongruent timelines and absurd propositions feed nonlinear narrative currents operating throughout his work. During the month of June, Chris will create a new installation work in AirSpace’s gallery at 4007 Chestnut Street. The gallery will be open by appointment prior to the June 25th artist’s reception, for guests to visit the work as it progresses. The gallery will then be open Saturday - Sunday 12-5pm and by appointment through July 16.
BiographyBorn in rural upstate New York in 1976, Chris Lawrence currently lives in Philadelphia, where he received an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. He has shown his work in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Melbourne, Australia, with forthcoming exhibitions scheduled in Portland, OR and Minneapolis, MN. Chris is a current artist resident at AirSpace in Philadelphia, PA and has recently completed a visiting artist residency with the Delphi Art Futures Program at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

AIR resident Andria Morales opens LAST RIDE: The Exhibit Friday May 13, 5-9pm

LAST RIDE: The Exhibit opens this Friday May 13, 5-9 pm at the 40th Street Artist-in-Residence Gallery, 4007 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

On Sunday March 27, Beth Beverly of Diamond Tooth Taxidermy hosted a "viewing" for the artist formerly known as Andria Bibiloni at the Rotunda in West Philadelphia.  Now, video documentation from the event as well as the sound-blasting tricycle that Ms. Bibiloni was placed on will be exhibited for one month at the 40th St. Artists-in-Residence gallery at 4007 Chestnut St.  We cordially invite you to attend the opening reception this Friday May 13 from 5-9 pm.  The gallery will hold open hours on Fridays in May from 4:30-7 pm and by appointment.

Many thanks to those of you who attended the March 27 viewing.  Friday's opening will be a great opportunity for Andria Morales to thank you personally, and for you to catch a glimpse of yourself in the video.  And for those of you who could not attend, this exhibition is your chance to find out what you missed!

Click the links below to read press about LAST RIDE:
http://www.examiner.com/temple-owls-in-philadelphia/last-ride-signals-new-start-for-temple-performance-artist-review
http://www.avclub.com/philadelphia/events/last-ride,232791/
http://www.citypaper.net/arts/2011-03-24-last-ride.html


--
www.escobar-morales.com
www.andriabibiloni.com

Call for Applicants!

Applications are now available for Residency 2011-2012!

The program is intended for emerging artists who live in neighborhoods west of the Schuylkill River. All applications are due by May 2, 2011, and residents will be selected by an advisory board comprised of artists, former AIR residents, educators, and community organizations. A more detailed description of the application process can be found HERE.
Feel free to email 40th.air.app@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

Neighborhood Bike Works and 40st AIR Prepare to Make a Big Splash at the Annual Kinetic Sculpture Derby!

With the support of a partnership grant from SCI West, AIR Space artists Jim Garvey, Andria Morales, and Ana Hernandez have been working with youth from Neighborhood Bike Works on a giant mobile sculpture for this year's Kensington Kinetic Bike Derby.


Beginning with small workshops on design, kinetic sculpture, found object art, and simple motors, the artists have been meeting weekly with youth since January to develop a unified concept and hone new skills.

After much brainstorming and sketching, the youth voted to construct a giant prehistoric shark known as the megaladon. In March they got right to work on crafting custom ocean inspired helmets for the big ride.

The weather is warming and the crew is ready to build! Stay tuned for updates on the project, as the May 21 derby deadline is just 4 weeks away!

Read more about the project and check out a beautiful two page photo spread in the latest edition of Grid Magazine.

Pictures from Jim Garvey's Circles and Circuits Installation

Pictures from Jim Garvey's Solo Exhibition,

Circles and Circuits

Air Space, March 2011

more installation photos here:

distraughtart.com

40th Street Artist-in-Residence Erik Ruin's solo show opens FRIDAY APRIL 8!

new solo exhibit by West Philly printmaker/shadow-puppeteer Erik Ruin

Projection & Print Installation explores hopes & anxieties for the future.

CONTACT- Erik Ruin- 267.262.0208. erikruin@gmail.com
 

FOR THE SAKE OF FUTURE DAYS

A Solo Installation by Erik Ruin

April 8-29, 2011

40^th St. AIR Gallery

4007 Chestnut, Philadelphia PA

OPENING RECEPTION-  Friday April 8^th, 6-9 PM

w/ live music by Charles Cohen and Jeff Cain (Ghostwriters) and dronescapes by John the Baptist (Kellzo from SGNLS)

For the Sake of Future Days is a densely layered floor-to-ceiling installation incorporating shadow projections, built structures, and various hand-painted, -printed & -cut elements. The central image/ theme is that of a world in the midst of extreme tumult & transformation. The installation functions  like speculative fiction showing a world just shy of the terminal end-point of today’s trends toward environmental devastation, economic collapse, income disparity and social fragmentation/alienation.  At the same time, it weaves in more hopeful strands/possibilities- people banding together in the face of adversity, the reclamation of public space & resources, the simple acts of generosity and ingenuity that point towards a brighter future.

 Future Days is a unique, fully integrated & immersive environment. Ramshackle structures made of salvaged wood, cardboard & windows contain intricate shadow-scenes depicting  interiors and inhabitants. Wall paintings incorporate the city-structures into a surrounding landscape- ravaged by war and pollution, yet in the process of being reclaimed, rebuilt and rehabilitated. The whole is dramatically lit, and decorated/complicated with printed/collaged elements and cut, folded and draped paper and fabric.

This installation draws upon and integrates the various strands of my practice as a printmaker, shadow-puppeteer, illustrator, muralist, zine-maker, editor,  etc. as well as past installation work, both solo and collaboratively as a member of the international Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative. Photo sets of this work are available online here-

Out Of the Shell of the Old (Justseeds at Space 1026, Philadelphia) http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualresistance/sets/72157606053422306/

Which Side Are You On? (Justseeds at Union Art Gallery, UW-M, Milwaukee)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualresistance/sets/72157615873790728/

Liberation (solo installation, Dirt Palace, Providence)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirtpalace/tags/erik/

ERIK RUIN is a Michigan-raised, Philly-based printmaker, shadow-puppeteer, and occasional editor/publisher of various publications, most recently the anthology Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority (w/ Josh MacPhee, AK Press,2007). 


As a performer, he has toured extensively in the U.S. and in Europe, and has been featured at such events as the Puppetropolis Festival in Chicago, Black Sheep Puppet Festival in Pittsburgh and at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.  He has worked as shadow sequence director for Barebones Productions' annual community-based Halloween extravaganzas.  His theatrical work is focused on creating "epic theater" projects (such as the dystopian allegorical musical The Nothing Factory) incorporating dramatic performance, live music, projections, banners and more to create a total experience.  He also creates improvised overhead projector performances with experimental musicians such as Katt Hernandez  and Charles Cohen.


As a visual artist, he frequently works collaboratively with other artists or with activist campaigns, and has created imagery for organizations engaged in work ranging from urban farming to housing cooperatives to prisoner advocacy. In 2006, he banded together with twelve other radical artists to create the Justseeds Artists Cooperative, a  national network which distributes their work and  fosters creative alliances with social movements.  Justseeds has gone on to exhibit worldwide, and recently won the Gran Prix at the Slovenian Graphic Arts Biennial.


Ongoing projects include the Liberation Banner Project, an open-source, open-edition set of silkscreened banners on the theme of "liberation", supported by a 2006 grant from the Puffin Foundation and further developed during a July 2009 residency at AS220 in Providence, RI.

He is currently an Artist-In-Residence  at the 40th St. AIR Program in Philadelphia. Forthcoming exhibitions include a solo installation at the AIR Gallery, and Justseeds installations at the Slovenia and Pittsburgh Biennials.