Michael Zakin Gallery

Aipotu: Utopia
 

From the stark modernist pursuits of the Bauhaus school to the idealistic endeavors of the artists of Black Mountain College and into our own time with the dystopian chaos in the work of Ryan Trecartin, the ideas embodied by utopian thinking have been consistently pursued by artists of each era. Neither totally utopian nor dystopian, the artists in this exhibition hold a place much more elusive in their meaning and intention.

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In this vein, yet accomplished through sculpture, Kim Holleman’s work is most directly engaged with the duality of utopia and dystopia proposed by the exhibition with much of her work depicting the beauty that can come from the most detrimental environmental catastrophes. Gleaming pools of oil and caustic rust are placed in what could otherwise be considered a more traditional and idyllic setting.

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John J. McGurk, Director