July 18–21, 2013
Casa GS
Avenida de las Flores & Circuito de la Rosa no. 6071
Fraccionamiento Hacienda Agua Caliente
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
www.steveturnercontemporary.com
Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles is pleased to present Art Baja Tijuana (ABTJ), the gallery’s second pop-up exhibition in Mexico. Art Baja Tijuana will highlight the innovative architectural projects that are changing the face of Tijuana while introducing eight cutting-edge international artists. ABTJ features the architecture of Jorge Gracia (Tijuana) and artwork by Tyler Adams (Los Angeles); Aaron Aujla (New York); Petra Cortright (Los Angeles); Katherine Davis (Los Angeles); PANCA (Tijuana); Pablo Rasgado (Mexico City); Timur (Los Angeles) and Fabiola Torres-Alzaga (Mexico City). The exhibition will be held in Casa GS, a newly built house designed by Gracia.
Casa GS is a contemporary, light-filled home that was built utilizing accessible materials including concrete, glass, steel, drywall and wood. Gracia believes that architectural design is enhanced when architects work closely with builders and craftsmen. In that spirit, he manages every aspect of his projects until the last detail is finished including custom designed furniture. He also uses reclaimed materials from his past projects, reusing them in new construction. An element that he always employs is one that is ubiquitous in Mexico: artisanal labor. He believes that it translates into a quality that makes each project distinct, and the concepts of translation and transformation are central to ABTJ.
With his use of easily accessible materials, Gracia has something in common with several of the artists in ABTJ. Pablo Rasgado, for example, often uses materials that he extracts from public spaces. In past works he has utilized sections of painted walls from busy city streets, remnants of drywall from temporary exhibitions at museums and common books that he has found within a city. In preparation for ABTJ, he will be the second resident of Se Renta and will live in Tijuana to create works with materials extracted from the local urban landscape. Some of these works will be exhibited at Casa GS and he will also produce a work off-site by transforming an abandoned house into a minimal monumental sculpture. Using a wide array of source materials, Rasgado has an uncanny knack for making abstract works of poetic beauty that have social, political or art historical relevance. Se Renta is an artist residency program of the Tijuana-based non-profit organization Laboratory of Contemporary Art Agents. Established and directed by Illya Haro in 2012, Laboratory supports artistic and cultural projects that inspire critical dialogue relating to the production of contemporary art.
Timur will present a musical performance (Friday, July 19 at 9pm) that was commissioned expressly for Art Baja Tijuana and sponsored by Bustamante Realty Group. It will consist of new songs, fictional and real conversations and improvisation inspired by the other artists in ABTJ. Timur will be accompanied by his two Los Angeles-based collaborators, Andrew Lessman on drums and Alex Noice on electric guitar. All of the events on Friday July 19, including a wine tasting featuring local vineyards, will be co-hosted by the Tijuana-based creative firm GastroMarketing.
There will be a tour of Tijuana’s modern architecture on Saturday, July 20. Visits will be made to CECUT (remarks by Illya Haro, curator and exhibition manager); Culinary Art School (remarks by Jorge Gracia, architect and Javier González, director of the Culinary Art School); Modulo Prep Library (remarks by Gabriela Bendeck, member of CRO Studio); VIA Corporativo (remarks by Ramón Guillot Lapiedra, architect); Misión 19 (with remarks by Manuel Martínez, architect/designer, Javier Plascencia, award-winning chef and restaurateur and Adria Montaño, executive chef at Misión 19, followed by a multi-course meal); Pablo Rasgado’s monumental sculptures; and Casa GS (remarks by Steve Turner, director of Art Baja Tijuana). The ticket price is 180 USD and includes a round-trip bus charter from Los Angeles, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the A+D Architecture and Design Museum>Los Angeles and Escuela Libre de Arquitectura, Tijuana. Tickets are available online from the A+D Architecture and Design Museum>Los Angeles: www.aplusd.org/baja-tour.
For further information please visit steveturnercontemporary.com or call 323 931 3721.
