February 2–March 31, 2012
808 Gallery at Boston University
The Boston University School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents the group exhibition The Calender’s Tales: Fantasy, Figuration, and Representation on view Thursday, February 2 through Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the 808 Gallery at Boston University.
The Calender’s Tales: Fantasy, Figuration and Representation presents the work of contemporary artists who have invented mythical beings, fantastical creatures, allegorical figures, and personal avatars in order to critically engage and challenge concepts of otherness. Ranging from the humble to the heroic, these characters are not limited to permutations of the cultural or racial Other; indeed otherness can also connote in this context alternate states of being or perceptions of self or society.
The title of the exhibition takes its inspiration from The Arabian Nights, the classic anthology of Middle Eastern and South Asian folktales. Employing pictorial strategies that encompass elements of fantasy and allegory (also surrealism and mythopoeia mixed with occasional subversive humor), the participating artists construct and explore diverse identity formations. These “fictionalized” representations inhabit a psychological and physical space that is simultaneously alien and familiar. Expressed broadly and intimately, the works address a range of interconnected issues including the construction of cultural identity and stereotypes, metamorphoses and transcendence, and consumption and desire.
Conceptually driven and visually complex, the exhibition places formal emphasis on painting and works on paper—reminiscent of book illustrations or graphic novels—to demonstrate the various ways in which studio artists exploit and mobilize traditional materials to create hybrid forms and imaginary bodies.
The Calender’s Tales artists are Larissa Bates, Iris Charabi-Berggren, dieRaul-Raul Gonzalez and Elaine Bay, Rebecca Doughty, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Kojo Griffin, Hilary Harkness, Julie Heffernan, Loren Holland, David Huffman, Wangechi Mutu, Virgo Paraiso, Joyce Pensato, Tino Rodriguez, Howie Tsui, and Summer Wheat. The exhibition is curated by School of Visual Arts Exhibitions Director, Lynne Cooney.
The School of Visual Arts at the College of Fine Arts was established in 1954 as a professional training school at Boston University. With faculty composed of practicing professional artists, the school offers an intensive program of studio training combined with liberal arts studies leading to the Bachelor’s of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees. Courses prepare students for future study or professional practice in painting, sculpture, graphic design, and art education. Notable alumni include painters Brice Marden and Pat Steir; Ira Yoffe, vice president/creative director of PARADE magazine; and Rick Heinrichs, the production designer whose credits include the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film series, “Fargo,” and “Sleepy Hollow,” for which he received an Oscar for Art Direction in 1999.
The Boston University College of Fine Arts was created in 1954 to bring together the School of Music, the School of Theatre, and the School of Visual Arts. The University’s vision was to create a community of artists in a conservatory-style school offering professional training in the arts to both undergraduate and graduate students, complemented by a liberal arts curriculum for undergraduate students. Since those early days, education at the College of Fine Arts has begun on the BU campus and extended into the city of Boston, a rich center of cultural, artistic and intellectual activity.
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Press Contacts:
Lynne Cooney: 617.358.0200 / [email protected]
Shaw Hubbard 617.353-3350 / [email protected]
