International Artists-in-Residence: New Works: 08.2

07.10.08

Media Contact: Celina Emery
t 210 212 4900 x323
f 210 212 4990
cemery@artpace.org
www.artpace.org

San Antonio, TX - Artpace San Antonio is pleased to announce New Works: 08.2 opening July 10, 2008 during San Antonio's Contemporary Art Month. Guest curator Lauri Firstenberg, Director/Curator of LAXART, Los Angeles, CA, will present new projects by Mark Bradford (Los Angeles, CA), William Cordova (Houston, TX), and Marcos Ramírez ERRE (Tijuana, Mexico).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
The cyclical narration of Bradford's installation TRAVIS expresses ideas of displacement and transition, tracing such changes back through history. In keeping with the artist's ongoing investigation of the relationship between communities and the changes to their physical surroundings, Bradford's Artpace project explores the history of a building adjacent to Artpace-the Travis Savings and Loan Association. Through primary research-from interviewing local people to consulting archival newspapers and photographs-the artist has deconstructed the enigmatic history of the bank building, using it as a window onto broader events in San Antonio. Drawing attention to the interactions of politicians, community leaders, and national events on a local scale, Bradford reveals underlying dichotomies in the building's past.

Known for his nomadic lifestyle, Peruvian-born artist William Cordova creates mixed-media installations and intimate drawings that serve as reflections upon the artist's transitory way of life and his interaction with urban culture. By combining elements of his South American heritage and childhood in Miami, FL, Cordova's drawings depict an intimate portrait of everyday life referencing a wide variety of sources, from music to literature to history. In Badussy (or Machu Picchu after dark), discarded stereo speakers are stacked into an altar-like configuration; at the bottom, a cache of objects is scattered on the floor. Cordova has combined record sleeves, a candle, and other images to represent the merging of two cultures: indigenous Incan and modern American.

ERRE's installations explore the role of history, communication, economics, and militarism in the development of cultural stereotypes and their role in governmental border control. Often staged in both the public domain and the gallery environment, these installations critique the social impact of rising global xenophobia. In Toy an Horse, 1998, ERRE positioned a large-scale, wooden horse at the border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico. The sculpture, similar in design to the epic Trojan Horse, features two heads, one facing Mexico to the south, and the other looking toward the US to the north. The sculpture calls into question aggressive border control policy and its impact on the racial politics.

ABOUT THE CURATOR
Lauri Firstenberg received her Ph.D. in the History of Art and Architecture Department at Harvard University. She founded LAXART, Los Angeles, California, in 2005. Currently she is curating the 2008 California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. Exhibitions Firsenberg has curated at LAXART include Adria Julia: A Means of Passing the Time (2007-08); and Daniel Martinez: How I Fell In Love With My Dirty Bomb (2006); among others. With Anton Vidokle she curated Isaac Julien: True North and Image Bank for Everyday Revolutionary Life at the Gallery at REDCAT in Los Angeles (2006). She has contributed to a host of publications on contemporary art including Art Papers, Frieze, Contemporary, Flash Art, Nka, Art Journal, Parkett, and Lab 71. She is the founder of L'art a new online publication for contemporary art. She is Adjunct Faculty in the Public Art Program at USC Roski School of Art and Sciarc, both in Los Angeles.

EXHIBITION INFORMATION
Exhibition Dates
July 10 - September 7, 2008

Brown Bag Lunch
Wednesday, August 6, 12:00-1:00 PM
Join us for a curator-led tour and brown bag lunch from Sip ($6.50). Please call Artpace for menu and reservations.

New Works: 08.2 is made possible by the Linda Pace Foundation; the City of San Antonio's Office of Cultural Affairs; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Nimoy Foundation; The Brown Foundation, Inc.; and Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, with additional support from the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes a great nation deserves great art.

ABOUT ARTPACE
Artpace San Antonio serves as a laboratory for the creation and advancement of international contemporary art. Artpace believes that art is a dynamic social force that inspires individuals and defines cultures. Our residencies, exhibitions, and education programs nurture the creative expression of emerging and established artists, while actively engaging youth and adult audiences.

Artpace is located downtown at 445 North Main Avenue, between Savings and Martin streets, San Antonio, Texas. Free parking is available at 513 North Flores. Artpace is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5 PM, Thursday, 12-8 PM, and by appointment. Admission is free.

© 2008 Artpace San Antonio

445 North Main Avenue San Antonio TX 78205 t 210 212 4900 f 210 212 4990 www.artpace.org