San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art Exhibitions and Programs

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If you Google “hair,” you come up with 38,300,000 entries, all but a fraction of which promote the multi-million dollar hair care industry. As a society we are obsessed with hair – cutting it, growing it, perming it, coloring it, moussing, shaving, curling and straightening it. Many of our ideas about nature and beauty, gender and sexuality, individuality and conformity converge with symbolic significance around society’s attitudes towards hair.
During the past decade, there has been a growing fascination among contemporary artists with all manner of bodily experiences. Increasingly, the body has been used not only as the subject in artwork, but as the medium as well. Menstrual blood, nail clippings and skin have all been used to create works that examine the human body in every possible way. And hair is no exception.
The tradition of using hair in art was prevalent during the Victorian era. The hair of the deceased was often clipped off at the funeral parlor and incorporated into mourning jewelry: necklaces, bracelets and rings. Besides jewelry, mourners would often weave decorative and complex wall hangings that were used as memorials. This sentimental romanticizing of hair fell out of fashion in the early 1900s.
The artists in Hair Raising use hair in a variety of ways to symbolize and explore issues of mortality, fetishism, social heterogeneity and social differences. Others are concerned specifically with hair’s physicality and materiality. Many of them incorporate it directly into their art and others depict hair through drawings and photographs.
Artists in this exhibition include Renee Billingslea, Rosana Castrillo Diaz, Wrenay Gomez Charlton, Diane Jacobs, Charles Linder, Victoria May, Paula Santiago, John Slepian, Valeska Soares, Lava Thomas, Lucrecia Troncoso and Kerry Vander Meer.

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we just telling stories is about the Medea Project Theater for incarcerated women, and the process that enables this theater ensemble to take a group of incarcerated women to a place where they are able tell their often painful and disturbing stories to sold out audiences and do nothing less than rock the house. Many of these women inmates have forgotten how to dream after having spent too many years lost in a narcotic fog. During the process of building a stage play they begin to reclaim a sense of self worth and the ability to dream again. The telling and retelling of tragic personal stories become the way they gain a new perspective on life and what they have lived through. There is a power in telling a personal story. This work will let us witness this power in action. Many of the women have clearly stated that it was during their involvement with the Medea Project, that they felt, for the first time a sense of self worth. Hopefully they will retain this feeling once the curtain has closed and hopefully at the end of the film the viewer will have a deeper understanding and knowledge of the numerous and nameless women and mothers that are imprisoned each and every year.

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Ramos Rivera has created a body of work notable for its emotional and visual intensity and highly individualized iconography. Through the use of brilliant color and a highly personal symbology, Ramos Rivera has created his own language that is written throughout his paintings, monotypes, and collages. All of the works in Ramos Rivera’s career represent a special confluence of his cultural past with his present day environment. His work follows the thread of 20th-century Mexican painting combined with that of Bay Area abstract painting. The resulting cross-cultural hybrid makes Ramos Rivera’s abstractions stand alone.
A master printmaker and collagist, Ramos Rivera’s works on paper equal the scope and intensity of his works on canvas. In his monotypes, his skill as a colorist is readily apparent as he builds up translucent layers of color that create an illusion of depth. The result is atmospheric sensual fields of color juxtaposed by his vocabulary of linear markings.
Gustavo Ramos Rivera was born in Coahuila, Mexico and immigrated to San Francisco in 1969. He has exhibited extensively since 1974 in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. In 1992 he received a Fleishacker Foundation Eureka Fellowship. His work is held in the collections of the San Jose Museum of Art, the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts, San Francisco, and the Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona, among others. Hackett-Freedman Gallery began representing Ramos Rivera and his work in January 2004.

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Lift Off will launch the artwork of eighteen new MFA graduates. Work will include the complete gamut of media, including photography, sculpture, painting and new media installations. The work of emerging artists is not only innovative and fresh, but is a glimpse into the upcoming trends in the art of tomorrow. The MFA program at San Jose state has a reputation for craftsmanship in all media, pushing its students to explore cutting edge tools and materials to present work that is rich in content. The students are encouraged to develop their work in the context of art historical precedent as well as contemporary theories and climate. San Jose State University is also internationally renowned for its strong program in digital art, known as CADRE.
The artists in Lift Off are: Pilar Aguero-Esparza, Justin Amrhein, John Bruneau, Martins Bluzma, Adam Caldwell, Richard C. Clapp, Sara Cole, Vera Fainshtein, Kanako Ota, Tai Pomara, Kevin Powers, Cynthia Siegel, Shelby Smith, Keith Southern, Skyler Thomas, Terry Thompson, Gaku Watanabe and Michael Weisert.

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THE MONOTYPE MARATHON is a weekend of workshops, held in professional printmaking studios throughout the Bay Area, and led by accomplished monotype artists. During the workshops, artists produce a number of prints, the best of which is exhibited at the ICA. At the end of the show, the prints are auctioned. All proceeds benefit the ICA.
THE ARTIST invites a sponsor to underwrite his/her participation in the Marathon or the artist may self-sponsor. During the four hour workshop, the artist produces up to seven prints. Workshop directors choose one print for exhibition and auction. The artist retains all other prints.
THE SPONSOR donates $250 to the ICA enabling an artist to participate in the Marathon. At the end of the exhibition, sponsors participate in a silent auction of the monotypes with their $250 donation serving as their first bid on the monotype of their choice.
THE PATRON underwrites two artists for $500 and is eligible to bid on two prints at the auction. Patron sponsors are acknowledged in the gallery.
THE WORKSHOPS Each workshop is four hours long. Artists should indicate their first and second choices for workshops and times on the registration form. Monotype Marathon organizers will try to accommodate preferences, but this cannot be guaranteed. Sponsors and artists will be notified of their assigned workshop location, date and time.

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An abstract narrative based on the theme of apocalypse, Was and Is Not and Is to Come will mark Waterston's largest site-specific project to date. His depiction will be played out across all the walls in the gallery, creating a continuous and cinematographic sweep. The viewer will be required to walk from one end of the gallery to the other and back again, in order to fully engage with the narrative. As Waterston describes it, the narrative will begin with "a fantastic nocturnal forest… which will then be disrupted by a beautiful and horrific deluge of detritus. The image will proceed from the ordered to the disordered, from harmony to disharmony, from accord to discord." The ICA Project Room will feature Waterston's sketches, small paintings and notes created in the development of Was and Is Not and Is to Come as well as reference and source materials.
The inspiration for much of Waterston's work comes from his in-depth investigations into such diverse areas as botany, Renaissance painting techniques, and both eastern and western religious and philosophical beliefs. Through his long standing interest in the genre of landscape painting, he explores the intersection of representation and abstraction. With a background in hyper-realist landscape, Waterston's most recent work explores the fantastic landscape, "leaving the natural world behind in order to create abstract, other-worldly spaces populated by non-representational forms..." In his most current projects he seeks to create visual narratives within large-scale or multi-panel abstract paintings.

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NextNew2006 will feature the technology-based work of Anthony Discenza, Kota Ezawa, Ken Goldberg, Ed Osborn, and Julia Page who all accepted our invitation to provide a visionary look at what the next new trends, movements, and/or ideas will be through the work of five emerging artists. Their work will be presented with the work of Nate Boyce, Elise Irving, Daniel Massey, Joe McKay, and Stephanie Syjuco.
NextNew2006 will open in conjunction with the ISEA2006 Symposium on Electronic Art and the ZeroOne San Jose Global Festival of Art on the Edge, both of which will take place in San Jose from August 7 – 13. The ISEA Symposium is a prestigious international art and technology conference that is sponsored biennially by the Netherlands-based Inter-Society for Electronic Art (ISEA). Every other year, cities around the world bid to host the symposium and this year it will be held in San Jose. ZeroOne is a milestone festival that will be held biennially in San Jose, making the work of the most innovative contemporary artists in the world accessible to an audience that is expected to come from around the world.
In combination with NextNew2006, on Saturday, August 12th, the night of the city-wide ZeroOne Festival closing party, the ICA will present A Painting Performance, a multi-media, interactive street event by new media artist Clive McCarthy. Mr. McCarthy will create a dynamic architectural portrait and transform new technologies into a relevant and exciting experience. His work is a unique combination of cutting-edge technology and traditional painting and music, performed in front of a live audience.
The NextNew2006: Art and Technology exhibition at the ICA and the accompanying Clive McCarthy performance raise significant and relevant questions for the viewing audience regarding issues of technology’s place and impact on contemporary art and culture. They are unique additions to the art and technology activities that will be taking place throughout the city during the Symposium and Festival. We anticipate that the regional, national and international audiences will continue to be attracted to the exhibition beyond the week of August 7th. NextNew2006 and documentation from A Painting Performance will continue to provide the chance to see cutting edge technology-based art made by some of the most distinguished and promising new media artists in the Bay Area. It will also provide the participating artists with an extraordinary opportunity to have their work viewed by an international community of technology innovators and enthusiasts.
This exhibition is made possible in part by grants from Applied Materials Excellence in the Arts: a program of Arts Council Silicon Valley and from the Fleishhacker Foundation.

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For thirteen years, artists throughout the Bay Area have been gathering at ICA-facilitated workshops during one weekend in spring in a "marathon" of printmaking. Working in groups of five or six, and led by a professional printer, artists whose primary media is often painting, sculpture, ceramics, or digital media, come together to practice the art of the monotype.
What is a monotype?
The monotype, often referred to as the "painterly print," is a one-of-a-kind print created by manipulating ink on a Plexiglas or metal plate, and then transferring the image to paper via an etching press. The resulting prints are characterized by an overall sense of spontaneity and expressiveness. Using brushes, brayers, fingers, rags, Q-tips, and other assorted tools, this immediacy of process is translated to the finished print. Whether the artist chooses to work in the subtractive method of inking the plate and wiping the ink away to create an image, or the additive approach of painting the image directly onto the plate, the pleasure of making monotypes comes when the completed plate is run through the press, transferring the ink onto paper.
This year's exhibition will culminate in a silent auction on Saturday, June 23.
The prints will be auctioned to the more than 100 Monotype Marathon individual sponsors, who made the artists' participation possible through their donations. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the ICA's exhibition and education programs. Only the sponsors who underwrite the artists' participation in this year's Monotype Marathon are able to participate in the auction; however the public is welcome to attend the reception.
The event is a collaborative process:
The Monotype Marathon is made possible by support from throughout the community. Workshop leaders donate their time and expertise and the workshops are staffed by volunteers from the participating educational institutions and the art community. According to Executive Director, Cathy Kimball, "It's a win/win proposition - the artists love the creative collaboration of the workshops, the sponsors get an original work of art for $250, and the ICA raises more than $35,000 for its programs."

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<a href="uploaded/files/2007_lift_off_exhibition_guide.pdf" target="_blank">Exhibition Guide</a>
Artist Websites: <a href="http://jasonadkins.net/" target="_blank">Jason Adkins</a> <a href="http://www.juliabradshaw.com/" target="_blank">Julia Bradshaw</a> <a href="http://www.jonathanbrilliant.com/" target="_blank">Jonathan Brilliant</a> <a href="http://ccastellanos.com/" target="_blank">Carlos Castellanos</a> <a href="http://shaychurch.com/index.php" target="_blank">Shay Church</a> <a href="http://morgankonn.com/index.html" target="_blank">Morgan Konn</a> <a href="http://www.slowe.org/" target="_blank">Sarah Lowe</a> <a href="http://www.owenpremore.com/Owen_Premore.html" target="_blank">Owen Premore</a> <a href="http://www.andrewareilly.com/" target="_blank">Andrew Reilly</a> <a href="http://jamesshurter.com/index.html" target="_blank">Jim Shurter</a> <a href="http://carlaturturici.com/2/Artist.asp?ArtistID=23123&Akey=PQFJP8B4" target="_blank">Carla Turturici</a>

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The Landscape of War exhibition illustrates the complex politics of war and our relationship to it. Curated by Anne Veh and largely inspired by the writings of Rebecca Solnit, this significantly relevant exhibition expresses a message that is both haunting and confrontational, challenging the viewer to fully consider the multi-faceted effects of war. Many of the artists in this exhibition provide essential and poignant political critique to inspire thoughtful dialogue. Enrique Chagoya re-maps the world in RoadMap, depicting the U.S. disproportionately larger than any other country. Michael Arcega cleverly plays with language and materials that are loaded with political associations. His sculptures of hand grenades and weapons titled Terrorice are made out of rice, the grain that the US gives as aid to war-torn and developing countries.
Pamela Wilson-Ryckman's delicately painted watercolors lure the viewer into a seemingly beautiful landscape only to reveal volatile political gatherings, collapsed buildings in ruin, and apocalyptic street scenes. In contrast to these catastrophic visions, Fanny Retsek symbolically counts each death in Iraq and each gallon of oil she consumes with individual hatch marks on paper. By making the exploits of war personal, Retsek implicates herself in the world events. Michael Light's ongoing aerial photographic investigation, Rancho San Pedro 04.28.06, exposes the infrastructure of a culture dependent on oil. The images unveil views of oil extraction, refining, global shipping, automobile transportation, and land use in Los Angeles.
Wartime not only changes the physical environment but also creates a culture of fear, corruption and secrecy. Mark Klett's series of photographs entitled The Wendover Project, documents the forgotten and dilapidated landscape that once served as the secret training ground for WWII bomber crews, including the 509th Composite Group that dropped the atomic bomb. Christoph Draeger further illustrates the catastrophic consequences of the bomb with a puzzle that depicts the devastated landscape of Nagasaki. Artist Trevor Paglen provides a glimpse into a world of secrecy with his ongoing investigation and documentation of secret military programs. Using astronomical equipment, Paglen's large-scale photographs are taken from a distance of up to 22 miles and depict Area 51, an off-limits military installation in the Nevada desert.
The Landscape of War is sponsored in part by Deborah and Andy Rappaport.

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As part of Montalvo Art Center’s year-long program entitled Iraq: Reframe, the ICA presents Open Shutters Iraq. Open Shutters Iraq was created by Eugenie Dolberg, a British-based photojournalist who will be in residence at Montalvo during the month of November 2007. In December 2006, Ms. Dolberg brought together 12 Iraqi women with the intent to have them document their lives through photographs and the written word. During a three-week time frame, these women of diverse ages and backgrounds were trained in photography by Ms. Dolberg and also encouraged to trace the trajectory of their own lives through words. She then sent them back to their individual towns to take photographs and create journals that would be the basis for the Open Shutters Iraq exhibition. After six weeks, the group reconvened to share their images and stories. The resulting exhibition consists of a selection of the hundreds of photographs taken by these women, as well as journal entries, brief biographies and photo captions that explain the circumstances of each photograph. The content of Open Shutters Iraq reveals the deteriorating landscape of a country at war as well as the poignant portraits of some of its citizens. Through the eyes of these twelve women and one six year old girl, the exhibition also reflects some of the harsh realities that face civilian women living in war-torn Iraq today.

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The exhibiting artists in The Space Between include Freddy Chandra, Brent Hallard, Linn Meyers, Mel Prest, Gay Outlaw, and Nancy White.
While the work ranges in media (painting, drawing, sculpture, and new media), each artist pays close attention to the subtle and obvious qualities of the visual experience. For instance, the colorful hand-painted lines in Mel Prest's paintings seem to vibrate upon prolonged observation, compelling the eye to refocus its gaze while exploring the content of the paintings. In similar fashion, a palpable pulse emerges from Linn Meyers' large scale wall drawings. Meyers methodically draws lines and dots to produce swirling optical fields. Using the precision of geometric forms, Nancy White creates intimate amplifications of light and color. On hand-pigmented paper, triangles seemingly dissolve and reappear in space. What emerges is an area of visual activity where the distinction between what is painted and what they eye construes is elusive. Freddy Chandra's site-specific installations examine the fleeting experiences that take place on the periphery of our visual world. The surfaces of Gay Outlaw's minimal sculptures shift and undulate to disrupt the visual senses. The artist utilizes simple forms to create visually complex rhythms of pattern, color, light and shadow.
The Space Between is sponsored in part by a generous gift from the Myra Reinhard Family Foundation.

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The work in This Show Needs You actively engages audiences in the process of creating. Evoking Joseph Beuys's exclamation that "everyone is an artist," Michael Smit's ongoing conversational piece How Have You Been an Artist Today? provocatively asks what it means to create. It is in this same spirit that Linda Montano, a seminal figure in contemporary feminist performance art, invites the audience to either "sit down with her in silence" or "sit down and receive Art/Life/Laughter Counseling" during her performance Re-Seeing: Being Blindfolded in California; 7 hours/ 4 days. Montano will also conduct a crash course in performance art called, You Too Are a Performance Artist of Your Life: A Workshop with Linda M. Montano.
Collaborators and lovers Elizabeth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle will present Love Art Laboratory Bridal Party, an experiment in exploring love as art. During the course of this seven-year performance art piece, now in its fourth year, the artists have a performance art wedding each year in collaboration with their guests, other artist and various communities. Stephens and Sprinkle will exhibit ephemera from their first three weddings including dresses, invitations, and gifts made by friends. In conjunction with the UCSC conference, the couple will renew their vows on May 17, at the UCSC campus. Additionally, the ICA will host a Bridal Shower for the couple.
Collaborators Ted Purves and Susanne Cockrell with Joseph McHenry, will rely on the participation of local gardeners to realize their installation Lemon Everlasting Backyard Battery. Inspired by San Jose's agricultural history, Cockrell and Purves will collect garden-grown lemons from the area and preserve them during the exhibition. Rows of the yellow jarred fruits will be displayed and Cockrell and Purves will provide opportunities for individuals to share recipes and stories that involve cooking with lemons. A lemon-infused picnic will convene on May 2, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. During the last week of the exhibition individuals may take home a jar of lemons.
Other projects continue the creative engagement. Harrell Fletcher and Miranda July give assignments to visitors to complete and post online in their interactive web project Learning to Love You More. Christian Jankowski's work involves collaborations with strangers. Lori Gordon's text paintings ask, "What color does your body need?" and Sara Thacher enlists neighbors and businesses to host and curate The Distributed Exhibition.

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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjica/sets/72157606576693524/" target="_blank">View Exhibition Images</a>
<a href="uploaded/files/tsny_exhibition_guide.pdf" target="_blank">Exhibition Guide</a>
Artist Websites: <a href="http://fieldfaring.org/" target="_blank">Susanne Cockrell and Ted Purves with Joseph McHenry</a> <a href="http://www.lorigordon.com/" target="_blank">Lori Gordon</a> <a href="http://www.harrellfletcher.com/" target="_blank">Harrell Fletcher</a> <a href="http://mirandajuly.com/" target="_blank">Miranda July </a><a href="http://www.lindamontano.com/index.html" target="_blank">Linda Montano </a><a href="http://www.michaelsmit.net/index.html" target="_blank">Michael Smit</a> <a href="http://elizabethstephens.org/index.php" target="_blank">Elizabeth Stephens</a> <a href="http://anniesprinkle.org/" target="_blank">Annie Sprinkle </a><a href="http://borro.ws/" target="_blank">Sara Thacher</a>

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The Word on the Street, neon signs by Ray Beldner, is an installation in the gallery's front windows at 560 South First Street. The Word on the Street is part of the ICA's "Night Moves" installation series, an innovative program that gives the ICA a nighttime presence and animates the downtown cultural landscape by showcasing after-dark programming in the gallery's windows.
Ray Beldner uses language from homeless signs to make poetic neon versions that reflect sentiments of our own shortcomings, losses and desires. An expert in appropriation and unexpected collaborations, Beldner's work in part pays homage to Bruce Nauman's famous neon sign, The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths. Responding to this statement, Beldner reveals human truths written by homeless individuals he has met on the street. Twisting what one would expect in a neon window display, Beldner's signs cleverly reflect on what it means to be an artist and a human.
Born in San Francisco, Beldner received a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from Mills College in Oakland, California. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally and his work can be found in many public and private collections including the Federal Reserve Board, Washington D.C., the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Oakland Museum of California, and the San Jose Museum of Art.

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Throughout its history, the ICA has been dedicated to providing meaningful opportunities for emerging artists and Lift Off is an extension of this commitment. The exhibition not only marks the culmination of two to three years of intense investigation in the Fine Art programs at San Jose State University but also launches the artists in the next chapter of their artistic pursuits. From sculpture to photography and painting to new media, the artwork challenges, inspires and reflects on the ideas and culture of our time.
This years graduates include: Colleen Arakaki, Susan Burgers, Ben Eberle, Mark Fox-Morgan, Benjamin Hunt, Ethan Miller, Andy Muonio, Amanda Smith, Gabe Toci, Ashley Vander Meeden, Tammy Jo Wilson and Bryan Yerian. In conjunction with the exhibition, the graduates will produce a color catalogue that includes essays by Art History Master Degree candidates Ross Borgida, Fredrick Hubbs, Colette M. Simanello, Sally Sumida as well as SJSU faculty Dore Bowen and Stan Welsh.

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Created by artist duo Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese (Ligorano/Reese), Crater Bay Area is a drawing contest in which artists and non-artists alike will sketch the moon in a competition to win deeds of land on the moon. The contest takes place at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) from May 30 - August 2. A ten-foot scale model of the moon will be installed in the middle of the gallery to serve as the subject of the drawing contest. Visitors may sketch their unique moonscapes using either traditional drawing materials or digital tools. Each participant will have up to 30 minutes to create a drawing that will hang on the gallery walls for the duration of the exhibition. Additionally, these images will be hosted digitally on the ICA's website and in "Second Life." The winning submissions will be selected by a panel of esteemed judges, including artists, art critics, technologists, curators, and local celebrities. An award ceremony will convene on the evening of Friday, August 1 and the celebrated artists will receive certified deeds to a plot of land on the moon.
Ligorano/Reese's interactive exhibition explores mankind's enduring fascination with the moon, interest to identify and understand the unknown. Crater Bay Area also investigates imagination and the implications of virtual space. The project sets up a playful stage of engagement that relies on the creativity of the audience to make the images that will ultimately hang on the walls. It cleverly recontextualizes the storied tradition of the plein air landscape to include the depiction of a man-made reproduction of the lunar surface, while also evaluating the success of traditional hand drawing versus computer-aided design. In addition, the prized deed to land on the moon and the exhibition's simultaneous existence in the virtual world highlight the scarcity of affordable Bay Area real estate in "real life."
Crater Bay Area is supported in part by a generous grant from Applied Materials. Additional support from Epson America, Adobe Systems Inc., and CADRE New Media Lab at San Jose State University.

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Monotype Marathon 2008 The Monotype Marathon is an intensive weekend of workshops held in professional printmaking studios throughout the Bay Area and led by accomplished monotype artists. During the workshops, artists produce a number of prints, the best of which are included in an exhibition at the ICA. At the end of the three-week show, the prints in the exhibition are auctioned. All proceeds help support the ICA.
The Sponsor donates $300 to the ICA enabling an artist to participate in the Marathon. At the end of the exhibition, sponsors participate in a silent auction of the monotypes with their $300 donation serving as their opening bid on the monotype of their choice.
The Patron underwrites two artists for $600 and is eligible to bid on two prints at the auction. Patron sponsors are acknowledged in the gallery and on the exhibition announcement.
The Artist invites a sponsor to underwrite his/her participation in the Marathon or the artist may self-sponsor. Potential sponsors include galleries, collectors, vendors, family and friends. During the four-hour workshop, the artist produces up to seven prints. Workshop directors choose one print for exhibition and auction. The artist retains all other prints.
The Monotype is a one-of-a-kind print created by applying ink to a plate and then running the plate through a press to transfer the image onto paper. The artist uses a variety of tools to apply ink and sometimes adds collage effects with transfers, fabric, and other materials. The result is spontaneous and expressive.

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The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is proud to present Eureka!, an exhibition featuring the 2005-2007 recipients of the Eureka Fellowship Award. A remarkable sampling of the vitality and distinctive character of the Bay Area's visual arts community, Eureka! will be on view from August 1 through September 20, 2008.
Sponsored by the San Francisco-based Fleishhacker Foundation, the Eureka Fellowship Award is the Bay Area's largest cash prize for individual artists. Since 1986, Eureka Fellowships have recognized artistic excellence through these one-year awards. The awards are not tied to creating specific projects, but rather, help artists continue making art by supporting more uninterrupted creative time.
The ICA is honored to collaborate with the Fleishhacker Foundation on the presentation of this exhibition and the publication of an accompanying catalogue. Eureka! reflects the ICA's shared commitment with the Fleishhacker Foundation to support Bay Area artists. The twelve fellowship winners were among 142 artists who applied from a candidate pool created by 60 local visual arts organizations, serving as nominators. The exhibition will include work by fellowship recipients Chester Arnold, Thomas Chang, Amy Franceschini, Paul Kos, George Kuchar, Josh Lazcano, Mads Lynnerup, Lourdes Portillo, Rigo 23, Claire Rojas, Philip Ross, and Christopher Sollars. Their creativity represents a wide range of the region's artistic talent, with work that is enormously varied in approach, subject and medium and reflects a broad cultural and stylistic diversity.
The extraordinary talent of these recipients was recognized by a panel of three nationally-known arts professionals who judged the artists' works, including Bill Horrigan, Media Arts Curator, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus; Eungie Joo, Gallery Director and Curator, The Gallery at REDCAT, Los Angeles; and Lydia Yee, Senior Curator, The Bronx Museum of the Arts. The panel met in November 2004 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

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The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) announces the exclusive California presentation of Manuel Neri's The Figure in Relief, a comprehensive exhibition of painted sculptures, maquettes and works on paper by this preeminent Bay Area-based sculptor. The show includes work from the past 25 years that focuses on Neri's use of the fragmentary and partial figure.
For more than five decades, Neri has been exploring the human figure in his art. He is known internationally for his life-size sculptures in plaster, bronze, ceramic and marble as well as for his association with the Bay Area figurative movement during the 1950s and 1960s. The reliefs recall ancient Greek temple pediments and metopes as well as Medieval altarpiece carvings and Renaissance relief sculpture. The carefully curated exhibition showcases Neri's unique ability to depict the figural form in various media.
"The ICA is truly honored to present this magnificent body of work by one of today's most celebrated sculptors," says Cathy Kimball, ICA Executive Director and Chief Curator. "We encourage everyone to visit the ICA to experience this stunning collection of figurative sculptures and be inspired by the mastery of the medium achieved by this living master."
A 196-page monograph accompanies the exhibition and provides comprehensive documentation of this unique series of sculptures. An opening reception and catalogue signing by the artist will be held at the ICA on November 7th from 6pm to 8pm. On November 13th at 7pm the ICA's monthly art discussion forum, Talking Art will address Neri's 25-year teaching career at UC Davis and the influence he's had on hundreds of artists. The session is entitled Figuratively Speaking: Tracing the Influence of a Teacher, a Program, A Movement and a Place, and the panel includes Bay Area artists Robert Brady, Christopher Brown and Fred Snyder.
Neri's work in plaster, ceramic, bronze and stone have merited him the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center in Hamilton, New Jersey. He will also be receiving the 2008 Bay Area Treasure Award from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on November 12th. Manuel Neri was born in 1930 in the San Joaquin Valley to Mexican immigrants and has lived in the Bay Area since 1950. Neri studied at the California College of Arts & Crafts and the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute), where he also taught from 1959 to 1965. He joined the faculty of the University of California, Davis in 1965 and retired from teaching in 1990.

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The Painted Room creates the illusion of a life-size living room suspended in space that oscillates between representation and abstraction. Comprised of colorful splotches of paint that cling to clear hanging monofilament, this floating sculpture represents Dorosz’ interest in the analogous properties of paint and the digital pixel in an age that is lured by the mysteries of virtual reality. Up close, the viewer is able to see the individual components of paint, but cannot comprehend the overall imagery. However, with distance, the paint chips dissolve into a kind of 3-D pointillist sculpture consisting of a couch, tables, lamps, and wall shelves.
“In addition to the visual treat, gallery visitors will have fun becoming a part of the work by simply walking around the space,” notes Cathy Kimball, ICA Executive Director and Chief Curator. “Moving around the piece, you appear as sliced fragments through the vertical interruptions of the hanging paint splotches to other viewers on the opposite sides, creating apparitions of a human presence within the room.”
Canadian-born Dorosz maintains a studio practice in San Franciso and is a full-time instructor at the Academy of Art University. Dorosz graduated with an MFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. In 2003 he won the Royal Bank of Canada’s New Painting competition. His work is in public and private collections throughout The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

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The ICA presents Lewis deSoto: BEFORE AFTER, the first comprehensive exhibition of work by mid-career conceptual artist Lewis deSoto. The show includes a selection of works on paper, photography, sculpture, sound pieces, and an immersive, chocolate-scented installation entitled End of Desire.
Lewis deSoto has been exploring personal narrative through his artwork for over 20 years using an extraordinary range of media. “The ICA is excited to shine a light on the incredible depth and breadth of deSoto’s work and pay tribute to an artist at the top of his game,” says Cathy Kimball, ICA Executive Director and Chief Curator. “Gallery visitors will be awestruck by the creative range of the work and the unique immersive nature of the exhibition experience.”
DeSoto’s multimedia installations combine sound, light, video, space, and sculpture elements and are site-specific or oriented toward making a complete environment. His conceptual artwork utilizes automobiles, inflatables, electronics, photography, wood and metal construction. Two particularly intriguing works in the exhibition include a sound piece and a large chocolate-scented installation. The sound piece titled Lament, uses the acoustics of the ICA’s exit corridor to create an immersive sound-filled environment created by the artist’s collaboration with opera singer Erin Neff singing excerpts from the Hermann Hesse poem “(Klage) Lament.” The large-scale End of Desire installation includes a long wooden pier surrounded by cocoa bean shells spread out on the floor, creating an organic landscape. Standing on the platform, enveloped by the potent smell of chocolate, participants are left to ponder the nature of desire. This work follows earlier projects that used fragrance to communicate the artist’s narrative.
Three sculptures that pay homage to deSoto’s father as well as a series of works on paper based on the 1920 novella by Herman Hesse titled “Klingsor’s Last Summer,” will be presented in the Cardinale Project Room.  A series of photographs called BASHO (meaning “place” in Japanese) represents deSoto’s first one-person photography exhibition in 1978. And using the paintings of Johannes Vermeer as inspiration for The Restoration, deSoto remodeled a garage to resemble a Vermeer interior. In it, he placed figures in contemporary and 17th century period garb surrounding a 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix to stage a scene that floats between photographic, painterly and cinematic forms.
DeSoto’s conceptually driven artwork brilliantly combines the past and present, and posits about the future. Culling from a range of influences including anthropology, sociology, history, religion, literature, music and personal memory, he utilizes a variety of media to provide commentary on his personal histories as they apply to contemporary culture.
Lewis deSoto was born in San Bernardino, CA and received his MFA at the Claremont Graduate University. His work is included in numerous public collections including the Des Moines Art Center, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Modern Art, San Jose Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and the Seattle Art Museum. DeSoto lives in Napa and is a professor of photography at San Francisco State University.

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Lift Off is an extension of the ICA’s commitment to provide meaningful opportunities for emerging artists to present their work to the public. The exhibition marks the culmination of two to three years of intensive investigation by students in the Fine Arts program at SJSU and launches the graduates into the next chapter of their artistic pursuits. Featuring sculpture, photography, painting, and new media, this diverse group of art makers and thinkers reflect the cultural vibrancy of our community.
Exhibiting artists include: Thomas Asmuth, Randy Bricco, Andrew Hedges, Kathryn Hetzner, Xiaoqing Jing, Margo Jones, Pantea Karimi, Wayne Madsen, Victor Malagon, Greg Mettler, Donna Pettit, Michael Risch, Dina Ropele, Virginia Westphal Uhl, and Jonathan Yao. In conjunction with the exhibition, the MFA graduates will publish a catalogue of their work with essays by Art History Master Degree candidates Sally Sumida, Celeyce Matthews and Jennifer De La Cruz.

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The annual Monotype Marathon exhibition is on view for three weeks at the ICA and culminates with a silent auction fundraising event on the last day of the show.
The Monotype Marathon event begins with an intensive weekend of art making by more than seventy-five professional artists in printmaking studios throughout the Bay Area. These artists are invited by the ICA to produce a number of monotypes during the marathon printmaking weekend event. The ICA selects the best work produced by each of the artists to showcase in the exhibition and to offer for sale in the silent auction. Proceeds raised from the auction go toward the ICA’s exhibitions and educational programs.
The ICA seeks support for the Monotype Marathon from its members and from the community by selling $300 sponsorships that enable artists to participate in the printmaking workshops. Each sponsorship donation serves as the opening bid on any of the works in the auction. All Monotype Marathon sponsors are guaranteed to receive a unique work on paper from the auction.
The monotype is a one-of-a-kind work on paper. It is a painterly form of printmaking requiring ink, a surface on which to print, paper and a press. The artist uses a variety of tools to apply the ink and sometimes adds collage, transfers, fabric and other materials.

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The ICA presents the work of nine Bay Area artists in its NextNew exhibition that features work from emerging talent on the region’s contemporary art scene. This year’s show subtitled Green, surveys fresh perspectives on climate change and related environmental and conservation issues.
Artists represented in the exhibition include Michelle Blade, Colette Campbell-Jones, Misako Inaoka, Vanessa Marsh, Carson Murdach, Sandra Ono, Ryan Pierce, Rebecca Rothfus, and Michael Ryan.
This year’s NextNew artists are recent graduates of regional MFA programs who reflect on “green” as source material for their ideas and work. “One of the distinguishing characteristics of this year’s show is how the artists have succeeded in marrying their conceptual goals with their chosen materials,” explains Cathy Kimball, ICA Executive Director.
On view is work in a range of mediums, including miniature sculptures of invented creatures by Misako Inaoka, and Michael Ryan’s life-size floating, breathing specters on life-support. Painters Michelle Blade’s, Carson Murdach’s and Ryan Pierce’s richly-rendered paintings depict apocalyptic dreamscapes, post-industrial landscapes, and historically-referenced seascapes devoured by urban sprawl. Digital photographic collages by Colette Campbell-Jones and mixed media pieces by Vanessa Marsh shine a spotlight on the intentional and unintentional footprints left by visitors in once remote and uninhabited natural settings.
“The big, unwieldy topic of ‘green’ encompasses everything from re-using lunch bags to halting global warming,” muses ICA Assistant Curator, Susan O’Malley. “To successfully tackle this theme we selected artists who are remarkable in part by how they personalize the topic and keenly engage the viewer by presenting curious combinations of beauty and destruction, natural and man-made materials, and classic and contemporary subject matter.”

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Ice Floe is a solo exhibition featuring a large-scale installation, and multi-media prints and paintings by artist Christel Dillbohner. Referencing the melting glaciers of the Arctic and Antarctic regions, the work presents a visual exploration of humanity’s impact on the natural environment. The installation will consume the Focus Gallery, inviting viewers to navigate their way around the space. The work is comprised of thousands of suspended cone-shaped objects dipped in shades of blue, white and green wax and hovers just above the floor to create an immersive environment reminiscent of a majestic arctic landscape. The piece is intended to suggest a parallel between the physical landscape, created over millions of years by the movement of earth, wind, and water, and our own inner landscapes, formed by layers of personal experiences gathered over the course of a lifetime.
In addition to exploring the ways in which human behavior has damaged the environment, Ice Floe reflects the Artist’s interest in human relationships with the landscape. “Christel is fascinated with the people who live in harsh arctic locales as well as the human desire to explore these mysterious lands,” explains ICA Executive Director and Chief Curator, Cathy Kimball. “This work draws on Christel’s observations of the quiescency of the arctic landscape, an environment that is noticeably changing and is in danger of being lost to future generations.”
A series of mixed-media monoprints referencing the environmental and cautionary themes explored in the exhibition will also be on view in the Cardinale Project Room. These works were created by Dillbohner as part of her recent residency at the ICA’s Print Center.
 
Christel Dillbohner: Ice Floe is funded in part by Applied Materials Excellence in the Arts Grants, a program of Arts Council Silicon Valley. Additional support provided by the James Irvine Foundation.

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The ICA presents Afterlife, a group exhibition of works created to breathe new life into re-purposed materials and objects. Guest curated by Kathryn Funk, the show includes sculpture, video, and multi-media work from artists Claudia Borgna, Mark Fox-Morgan, Elisabeth Higgins O'Connor, Lisa Kokin, Charlotte Kruk, Robert Larson, Scott Oliver, Beverly Rayner, and Ann Weber. 
The artists represented in Afterlife take advantage of cast-offs from our contemporary lives. With a conscious eye to the materiality of the chosen discards, items from the street, junkyards and second-hand stores are transformed into fresh, inspired creations that give rise to thoughtful consideration and interpretation.
Even before the green recycling revolution took hold, artists were reusing and re-purposing found materials,” says Afterlife curator Kathryn Funk. “When an object has been discharged from its original purpose it still carries some association with its past. When that association is altered it takes on new meaning,” explains Funk.
Exploring new meanings and new lives of discarded and re-used materials is the central focus of the artists’ works on view in Afterlife.
London-based artist Claudia Borgna has been collecting and using plastic bags as an inspired muse in her art for several years, carefully gathering and using them after each installation or performance in a different configuration. Borgna’s work is on view in Afterlife and Night Moves – after dark video art programming presented in the ICA’s front windows.
Mark Fox-Morgan uses paper – a tree by-product— cast as beams for his massive house-like structure. The beguiling skeleton appears remarkably strong despite its extremely fragile nature, thus calling into question the nature and exploitation of its source. Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor and Lisa Kokin find inspiration in materials scavenged from flea markets and thrift stores. Higgins O’Connor uses discarded fabrics of all sorts and stitches together life-sized anthropomorphic stuffed animal creatures. Kokin uses books and the book format; dissecting, reassembling and pulping them to express new ideas and her own personal, political and cultural views. Charlotte Kruk salvages and sews product wrappers side by side to create new textiles in the form of wearable art. Robert Larson gathers and dissects tossed cigarette packages and match books to make visually stunning constructed paintings of rich color patterns, hues and textures, with the dissected paper material.
Conceptual artist Scott Oliver alters everyday objects, carefully crafting them into a unique state that undermines their original function but never erases the original object’s identity. Beverly Rayner manipulates all kinds of discarded items and constructs new roles for them in her art as she explores how memory distorts the truth. Ann Weber transforms cardboard boxes pulled from dumpsters into elegant, playful biomorphic forms.

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This exhibition provides visitors with a unique opportunity to see the breadth, depth and evolution of Varnay Jones’ work over the past fifteen years. Comprised of two-and three-dimensional works including drawings, constructed works and re-conceptualized ready-made pieces, Manifold reflects the artist’s systematic exploration of repetition, form and material.
By using opposing media such as paper and rocks, fiberglass and beeswax, clay and gauze, Varnay Jones creates objects infused with a palpable tension between the conflicting nature of the materials and the equilibrium of their carefully balanced compositions. The resulting forms are open-ended and ambiguous, while also evoking concepts related to invisibility, emptiness, memory, perception, and time. The artist’s careful layering of translucent and transparent materials traps light within her works, creating restlessness between what is revealed and what is concealed within the multiple layers of each piece. The objects often reveal subtle hints at their hand-made quality despite the precision of their construction.
“Throughout our 29-year history, the ICA has maintained a reputation for discovering new talent as well as providing meaningful exposure for under-recognized mid-career artists,” says ICA Executive Director, Cathy Kimball. “During the past 30 years, Theodora has created a diverse body of work that includes sculpture, drawings, prints, assemblages and installations. Manifold presents an exciting and unique opportunity to see and experience how this accomplished artist’s work has evolved during the last decade," explains Kimball
Hungarian-born Varnay Jones has lived in San Francisco for over thirty-five years. She received her BFA and MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest. Her works have been exhibited extensively, nationally, and in Europe and Asia and she has received numerous awards and grants.

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When Ted Fullwood first used chenille sticks (otherwise known as pipe cleaners) while teaching art to a group of middle school students almost ten years ago, he became hooked. Since then, he has spent countless hours weaving together these flexible, colorful and fuzzy sticks that are best known for their use in children’s craft projects, not for creating large-scale sculptures. He describes the pleasure of weaving as “going into the zone,” where his hands intuitively operate and his mind enters a meditative state to create his artwork.
Considering the low-tech weaving process and materials, it may seem surprising that the title of this show is Energy Machines.  However, for Fullwood, the wildly abstract and colorful objects emit energy as a machine performs an activity. After all, he remarks, “if art is good, it will start to permeate energy to the people that view it. (While) a lot of that energy is just imagined, sometimes imagined energy is the best kind.”
Fullwood describes his aesthetic as excessive and obsessive, where “too much is never enough.” Throughout his life, he has created this way, whether in clay, text, mosaics or textiles. Growing up in Palo Alto, he went to an alternative high school and spent all of his time in the ceramics studio. In college at UC Santa Cruz he studied Creative Writing. Though he admits he may not have been a great writer, he discovered great pleasure in using words and allowing language to spill out of his imagination and onto the page. When he moved into his home in San Jose, after he received his MFA at San Jose State, he embarked upon a huge project of covering the walls in his house with his own fantastically colored tiles. While he considers this to be a work-in-progress, nearly every square inch of his home has been embellished. Working in this way and finding the place where his mind and hands “go into the zone,” Fullwood makes objects that are both wonderfully original and incredibly familiar.

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The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) presents, By A Thread, an exhibition of artwork by emerging and mid-career Bay Area artists who create unexpectedly nostalgic, and poetic works using thread as their primary medium.
The show includes work from artists Jody Alexander, Susan Taber Avila, Diem Chau, Lauren DiCioccio, Robin Hill, Nina Katchadourian, Lisa Kokin, Beili Liu, Katie Lewis, Emil Lukas, Victoria May, Ali Naschke-Messing, Lisa Solomon, Hadi Tabatabai, Nicola Vruwink, and Allison Watkins.
 “By a Thread is not an exhibition about precise or technically proficient sewing, embroidery or any other form of needlework,” says Cathy Kimball, ICA Executive Director. “Rather, it is an exhibition featuring contemporary art that uses thread as a medium to communicate the ideas, visions, and conceptual explorations of the participating artists. In many cases, the artists included in the exhibition have found that the ubiquitous and centuries-old process of stitching can be used in innovative ways to create something new,” explains Kimball. Thus, the exhibition features the work of artists who give fresh consideration to the value and function of traditional handiwork. The show includes small two-dimensional pieces and large-scale installations, as well as a wide variety of sculptural works.

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Talking Art Thursday, February 11, 7-9pm Join us for a panel discussion with By A Thread artists
Talking Art is Free for ICA members, $5 for non-members, $2 for students
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjica/sets/72157622928728619/" target="_blank">View Exhibition Images </a>
<a href="uploaded/files/threadsfullwoodmazza_guide.pdf" target="_blank">Exhibition Guide</a>
<a href="uploaded/files/byathreadpricelist.pdf" target="_blank">Pricelist</a>
Artist Websites:<a href="http://www.jalexbooks.com/" target="_blank"> Jody Alexander</a> <a href="http://www.suta.com/" target="_blank">Susan Taber Avila</a> <a href="http://www.diemchau.com/" target="_blank">Diem Chau</a> <a href="http://www.laurendicioccio.com/" target="_blank">Lauren DiCioccio</a> <a href="http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/" target="_blank">Nina Katchadourian</a> <a href="http://www.lisakokin.com/" target="_blank">Lisa Kokin</a> <a href="http://www.beililiu.com/" target="_blank">Beili Liu</a> <a href="http://katiehollandlewis.com/" target="_blank">Katie Lewis</a> <a href="http://www.vicmay.com/" target="_blank">Victoria May</a> <a href="http://www.alinaschkemessing.com/" target="_blank">Ali Naschke-Messing</a> <a href="http://www.lisasolomon.com/" target="_blank">Lisa Solomon</a> <a href="http://www.haditabatabai.com/" target="_blank">Hadi Tabatabai</a> <a href="http://www.nicolavruwink.com/" target="_blank">Nicola Vruwink</a> <a href="http://www.allisonwatkins.com/" target="_blank">Allison Watkins</a>

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The annual Monotype Marathon exhibition is on view for three weeks at the ICA and culminates with a silent auction fundraising event on the last day of the show. 
The Monotype Marathon event begins with an intensive weekend of art making by more than seventy-five professional artists in printmaking studios throughout the Bay Area. These artists are invited by the ICA to produce a number of monotypes during the marathon printmaking weekend event. The ICA selects the best work produced by each of the artists to showcase in the exhibition and to offer for sale in the silent auction. Proceeds raised from the auction go toward the ICA’s exhibitions and educational programs.
The ICA seeks support for the Monotype Marathon from its members and from the community by selling $300 sponsorships that enable artists to participate in the printmaking workshops. Each sponsorship donation serves as the opening bid on any of the works in the auction. All Monotype Marathon sponsors are guaranteed to receive a unique work on paper from the auction.
The monotype is a one-of-a-kind work on paper. It is a painterly form of printmaking requiring ink, a surface on which to print, paper and a press. The artist uses a variety of tools to apply the ink and sometimes adds collage, transfers, fabric and other materials.

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Exhibition: March 6 – March 27, 2010 Opening Reception: Fri, March 5, 6-8pm Silent Auction: Sat, March 27, 5:30-7:30pm
Corporate Sponsor: Heritage Bank of Commerce
Business Sponsors: Bontrager Framing
Monotype Marathon 2010 is also made possible by the generous donations of materials and services from the following partners:
Kala Art Institute, Berkeley Foothill College, Los Altos University of San Francisco, San Francisco 
Talking Art Thursday, March 11, 2010, 7-9m Featuring a discussion with renowmed printmaker and artist Joseph Goldyne
Talking Art is a series of salon-style discussions about art held at the ICA from 7pm - 9pm. Admission is FREE for ICA members; $5 non-members; $2 students.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjica/sets/72157623488107192/" target="_blank">View Exhibition Prints</a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjica/sets/72157623605693731/" target="_blank">View Auction Party Pics!</a>

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Libby Black’s Work Out sculptural installation makes its California premiere at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. Work Out, Black's sculptural installation is on view from April 10 through July 3 in the Cardinale Project Room.
Work Out is a life-sized paper replica of a home gym replete with famous fashion brand accessories. Using paper, paint and hot glue, Black’s Work Out presents a fantasy world of luxury goods. The artist has created a fully equipped shrine to fitness and consumerism including a Prada stationary bike, a Louis Vuitton bench press, a Burberry punching bag and a Chanel weight belt. The individual pieces are exact replicas of traditional workout equipment yet the luxury brand identification and detailing in the pieces reveal the decidedly DIY nature of the work. As a result, the hand-made quality of the perfectly faux equipment and accessories reveal the seduction and deception inherent in the work.
Born in Ohio and raised in Texas, Libby Black now lives and works in Berkeley, CA. She received her MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts in San Francisco in 2001, and received her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1999. Her work has been shown extensively throughout the United States in solo and group exhibitions, and is held in both private and public collections in California, New York and Europe, including the Orange County Museum of Art, the Oakland Museum of Art, and The Chaney Family Collection in Houston, Texas. Work Out is supported in part by Wanda Kownacki.

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As the first emerging artist to participate in the ICA’s series of immersive solo exhibitions, Covarrubias joins established Bay Area artists including Theodora Varnay Jones, Christel Dillbohner, Chris Dorosz, Lewis DeSoto and Tim Horn, who have also presented large-scale installations in the ICA’s Focus Gallery. 
As a child, Covarrubias built forts, houses and spaceships – drawing elaborate plans and maps to render his creations.  He has long been involved in investigations of space and how it can alter and be altered by one’s mental state.  And just as the artist created forts, rooms and spaces as a child to transport himself into fantasy worlds, he employs similar processes today to explore and portray his present-day emotions and experiences. Covarrubias’ multi-media pieces are constructed primarily from paper attached or hung from a room–sized armature made from materials including steel wire, monofilament, wood, and PVC pipe. Modesto Covarrubias is a San Jose-native who lives and works in Berkeley, CA.  Covarrubias recently graduated with an MFA in Studio Art from Mills College, and in 2005 earned a BFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute.  Covarrubias’ work has been exhibited in Italy, New York City and throughout the Bay Area.
Liminal is supported in part by a grant from the Castellano Foundation. Additional support is also provided by the James Irvine Foundation.

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The Lift Off exhibition marks the culmination of two to three years of intensive investigation by students in the Fine Arts program at SJSU and launches the graduates into the next chapter of their artistic pursuits. The show features sculpture, photography, painting, mixed media and new media.
This year’s exhibiting artists include: Kirkman Amyx, Pernilla Andersson, Tracy Burk, shiloh burton, Yunan Cao, Wendy Crockett, Jim Edgeworth, Johnny Hanna, Hedwig Heerschop, Barbara Horiuchi, Trevor Koch, John Pickelle, Beverly Rayner, Elizabeth Robera, Danielle Siembieda, Susan Suriyapa, and Hongbiao Wang. “Lift Off is an extension of the ICA’s commitment to provide meaningful opportunities for emerging artists to present their work to the public,” says Susan O’Malley, ICA’s assistant curator. “We are always excited to present the work of new artists and we are fortunate to have developed a wonderfulcollaboration with a diverse group of art makers andthinkers who reflect the cultural vibrancy of ocommunity,” adds O’Malley. In conjunction withthe exhibition, the MFA graduates will publish a catalogue of their work with essays by Art History Master Degree candidates Tariq Abdul’Wahad, SarahGoodman, Heather Peterson, Maayan Glaser’Koren anSamantha Johnson.

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In true Silicon Valley fashion, Lubell has created his low-tech machines in his San Francisco garage for over twenty years. However, instead of working with computers, software, and electronics, the artist collaborates with pine wood and ancient technologies—cranks, pulleys, and springs, for instance—to build the immersive and interactive works. The deliberate handmade aesthetic, along with the ingenuity of the complex designs, give Lubell’s works the appearance of a different era—a time of the master craftsmen and old technology. The creations are in fact deeply rooted in the artist’s research and explorations of historic scientific instruments and obsolete machinery.
Lubell’s Conservation of Intimacy serves as a stage where people are invited to touch and play with the work—an unlikely, but thrilling, proposition in the context of the “do not touch” policy in the gallery and museum environment. As participants crank, rock, and create sounds with the work, they tap into what the artist describes as the “vast reservoir of knowledge stored in each of our bodies,” and become important collaborators in the realization and understanding of this massive installation.
With a background in engineering and psychology, Lubell designs his interactive wood machines through experience. He begins with a question—about intimacy, the nature of being human, the theory of entanglement—and looks to archaic technology to manifest these complicated concepts into a mechanical device. His trial-and-error process results in creations that are fragile-looking yet sturdy, poetic and surreal.
Not until the works come in contact with us, the visitors of the exhibition, do they truly come to life. In Lubell’s world of art making, every person’s participation is significant. The works entice the senses—they look and feel like elaborate playground diversions and are incredibly pleasurable to explore. In Conservation of Intimacy, two people rock on a suspended bench while their motions are recorded as a graph by a pen marking a roll of paper (which is moved by the third participant pedaling on a stationary wooden bicycle). With minimal instruction, visitors intuitively discover and activate the mechanics of the multifaceted machines. As participants are absorbed in the rattle and hum of the work, they delight in being alive and engaged in the wonder of life.
Much of Lubell’s work is inspired by the early medical devices of French physiologist Etienne Jules Marey (1830–1904). A mechanical genius, Marey developed myriad sophisticated pneumatic contraptions in the late nineteenth century to precisely measure movement and make visible what is otherwise invisible, including a machine that simulated a heart beat and a pulse-reading device that was a precursor for medical imaging. The artist writes, “What I like about Marey's early medical apparatus is that while they reflect a naive faith in mechanical models for biology they also embody the evolutionary design necessary to get realistic results. They were designed by experience just as we ourselves are
Born in Baltimore, MD Lubell is based in San Francisco, CA. His interactive installations have exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently at FACT, Liverpool and V2 in Rotterdam. Lubell has received numerous awards including and Award of Distinctio n from Ars Electronica, an Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation grant in 2009 and Pollack Kranser Foundation Grants in 2002 and 1991.

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The introduction of the digital camera over 20 years ago revolutionized photography. For novices and professionals alike, the computer has replaced the darkroom in the 21st century. However, even with the sophisticated advances of the digital age, a growing number of artists are embracing 19th century photographic technologies to make their work.
Paradoxically, technology has greatly contributed to the enthusiasm, interest and renewal of antiquated photographic processes. Many artists utilize digital tools along with historic practices to make hybrid works.
Digital printing enables artists to create large negatives for contact printing and play with scale in ways that were previously unavailable. Active online communities provide a forum to share recipes and practices.
Part chemist, artist, historian and experimentalist, the photographers in this show share an interest in utilizing old technology to create new imagery. Exhibiting artists include: Stephen Berkman, Linda Connor, Binh Danh, Nathaniel Gibbons, Joy Goldkind, Andreas Hablutzel, Rachel Heath, Robin Hill, Kerik Kouklis, Chirs McCaw, Beth Moon, Ben Nixon, Ron Moultrie Saunders, Michael Shindler, and Brian Taylor.

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<a href="detail.html?eid=275" target="_blank">Talking Art</a> Tintype demo with Michael Shindler Thursday, August 12, 7-9pm Limited to 20 participants $10 admission Contact Susan 408.283.8155
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjica/sets/72157624326837988/" target="_blank">View Exhibition Images</a>
<a href="uploaded/files/exposed_captured_steketee_guide.pdf" target="_blank">Exhibition Guide</a>
Artist Websites: <a href="http://www.stephenberkman.com/" target="_blank">Stephen Berkman</a> <a href="http://www.edelmangallery.com/connor.htm" target="_blank">Linda Connor </a><a href="http://www.binhdanh.com/" target="_blank">Binh Danh</a> Nathaniel Gibbons <a href="http://www.johnstevenson-gallery.com/artist.php?file=goldkind.xml" target="_blank">Joy Goldkind</a> Andreas Hablutzel <a href="http://www.rachelheath.com/" target="_blank">Rachel Heath </a><a href="http://www.robin-hill.net/" target="_blank">Robin Hill</a> <a href="http://www.kerik.com/new/" target="_blank">Kerik Kouklis</a> <a href="http://www.chrismccaw.com/Home.html" target="_blank">Chris McCaw</a> <a href="http://www.bethmoon.com/" target="_blank">Beth Moon</a> <a href="http://www.bennixonphotography.com/" target="_blank">Ben Nixon</a> <a href="http://www.ronmsaunders.com/" target="_blank">Ron Moultrie Saunders</a> <a href="http://www.michaelshindler.com/" target="_blank">Michael Shindler</a> <a href="http://www.briantaylorphotography.com/" target="_blank">Brian Taylor</a>

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The ICA presents its signature Annual Art Exhibition and Auction. This comprehensive exhibition presents more than 150 works by the finest contemporary artists in the Bay Area. The exhibition opens on October 1st with a lively reception featuring live music, wine and light cocktail fare. The evening culminates with a Silent Auction of a selection of incredible works in the exhibition that will excite new, novice and long-time art collectors and enthusiasts. Admittance to the Opening Reception and Silent Auction is free. To bid in the Silent Auction, guests must purchase a $30 bidder card.
The Live Auction Gala Event -- one of the Bay Area's longest standing and anticipated art events of the year will be held on Saturday, October 23rd. To accompany the Live Auction gala evening, champagne, wine and savory hors d’oeuvres donated by some of the South Bay’s finest wineries and restaurants will be served. Admittance to the Live Auction is reserved for ticket holders only.
The Annual Art Auction at the ICA provides a unique opportunity to art lovers and collectors who are looking for world class artwork created by the region’s most established artists and its rising stars whose work reflect the scope of the Bay Area’s vibrant and eclectic styles and interest. Silent and Live Auction goers can bid on a range of work including paintings, photographs, mixed media and installation pieces, and sculpture. All proceeds from the auctions support the ICA’s innovative exhibitions and educational programming.

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Exhibition October 1 - October 23, 2010
Opening Reception & Silent Auction Friday, October 1, 2010 6 - 8 PM Free Admission
Live Auction Saturday, October 23, 2010 Doors open at 6 PM Bidding starts promptly at 7 PM Admission to ticket holders only
Featuring complimentary wines and gourmet cocktail fare from the Bay Area's finest wineries and restaurants
Tickets on sale now. <a href="https://app.etapestry.com/cart/SanJoseInstituteofContempo/default/item.php?ref=4452.0.8643611" target="_blank">$30* per ticket to bid in the October 1 Silent Auction</a> * ticket price will be deducted from Live Auction ticket purchase
<a href="https://app.etapestry.com/cart/SanJoseInstituteofContempo/default/item.php?ref=4452.0.8644639" target="_blank">$50 per ticket to bid in the October 23 Live Auction if purchased before October 23</a>
$60 per ticket at the door on October 23
ICA Friend members may reserve <a href="https://app.etapestry.com/cart/SanJoseInstituteofContempo/default/item.php?ref=4452.0.8607791" target="_blank">two complimentary auction tickets </a>(valid for bidding in the Silent and Live Auctions)
To purchase tickets by phone: 408-283-8155 In Person: at the gallery <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjica/sets/72157624622326257/" target="_blank">View Auction Gallery</a> Come back often as we continue to add new images to the gallery.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjica/sets/72157622040800832/" target="_blank"></a>
<a href="uploaded/files/auction_faqs.pdf" target="_blank">Auction FAQs</a>

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ICA

Exhibitions

Bernie Lubell: Conservation of Intimacy

Exposed: Today’s Photography/Yesterday’s Technology

Captured: Photography’s Early Adopters

Liz Steketee: Reconstructed Memories

Art is the new 30! The ICA Celebrates 30 Years at the Annual Art Auction.

Tony May: Old Technology

Programs

Artist Talk with Bernie Lubell (in partnership with 01SJ Biennial)

AbsoluteZERO Festival

Upcoming

Exhibition Archive

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