ONLY CONNECT
Larry Bamburg – Tom Kotik – Heather Rowe – Mafalda Santos – Patrick Tuttofuoco
Curated by Cecilia Alemani for the Beyond Art in General program at Bloomberg LP
March 26 – August 29, 2008
Bloomberg Headquarters
731 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Tel: +1 212 318 2000
Access to the exhibition is by appointment only
Please contact Jessica Maturo at 212-219-0473 ext. 21
for information
ONLY CONNECT brings together the works of five artists who investigate the metaphor of communication through sculptural interventions and site-specific installations. Larry Bamburg, Tom Kotik, Heather Rowe, Mafalda Santos, and Patrick Tuttofuoco explore a world where information is translated into fragile assemblages, hyper-connected environments and intricate sculptures of low-tech materials.
The artists in ONLY CONNECT construct systems of communication and exchange that rely on basic materials, fragile geometries or simple, sometimes natural forms. In their modesty or immediate simplicity, the artworks offer an alternative against the hyper-technological landscapes in which we live and work, suggesting that complexity and multiplicity don’t only belong to the realm of digital technology but also to the much more private and provisional spaces of imagination.
Some of the works in the exhibition seem to visualize free associations and over-excited brain activities. Larry Bamburg’s installations, for example, resemble intricate galaxies or three-dimensional graphs made of wood, fans, broken objects and nylon strings. Tom Kotik works on a peculiar form of sound sculpture that tries to compete against background noises. His “architecture of silence” – as the artist calls it – describes a space in which to retreat and experience a momentary disjunction from the flow of information. Other works in the show resemble artificial compositions of global networks or flow charts, but they seem to insist on finding a personal dimension within the social space of information. Mafalda Santos’ complex diagrams and intricate systems engage with the fractal geometries of communication networks but they do so through the very personal gestures of the artist’s hand. Patrick Tuttofuoco looks at communication as a role game, in which borders, hierarchies and distances can be easily reinvented. Heather Rowe is probably the most traditional sculptor in this group, but her work often transforms space by opening it up to imaginary travels and distant, mental geographies.
The exhibition hints at a secret relationship between the grammar of thoughts and the diagrams of international information exchange – a relationship that might be of love and hate, of similarity and contrast. ONLY CONNECT is a celebration of the ecstasy of communication: it evokes the uncertainty and confusion of today’s digital society and expresses the need to return to a more personal form of exchange.
ONLY CONNECT is organized by Art in General and sponsored by Bloomberg.
Art in General
79 Walker Street
New York, NY 10013
Tel: +1 212 219 0473
Fax: +1 212 219 0511
Email: info@artingeneral.org
