Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
For further information, please contact: Renée A. Fox – 310-621-5416



THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF OTIS COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN BECOMES THE THREAD FOR A THREE-DAY INSTALLATION AT THE COLLEGE’S ORIGINAL LOCATION


Reclaiming: Inter-generation

Bas Jan Ader, B&T, Steven Bankhead, Renée A. Fox, Gajin Fujita, Bob Glover, Philip Guston, Kate Harding, Samantha Harrison, Sara Hunsucker, Flora Kao, Jessica Minckley, Joseph Mugnaini, Sandeep Mukherjee, Kenneth Ober, Tracy Powell, Steve Roden, Timothy Tompkins, Jeffrey Vallance and Holly Williams.

October 3 – 5, 2008
Opening Reception: Oct. 3rd, 6-9pm
Exhibition also on view
Saturday, Oct. 4th and Sunday, Oct. 5th, 6pm to 9pm
627 S. Carondelet St. Los Angeles, CA 90057

In conjunction with Otis College of Art and Design’s 90th Anniversary Homecoming Weekend, Reclaiming: Inter-generation, aligns Otis’ history with a facet of its contemporary impact by presenting intergenerational pairings whose significance and meaning have been self-determined by a core group of 10 alumni artists. Curated by Renée A. Fox (BFA, 2002), Kate Harding (BFA, 2003) and Jenée Misraje (BFA, 1990), this special, three-day exhibition is a rare occasion in which artwork by past Otis students is presented in the college’s former administrative building located at 627 South Carondelet in the Westlake area of Los Angeles.

The exhibition Reclaiming: Inter-generation is amplified by the distinct architecture and legacy of the building. It extends from two points: the common, shared experience of being a part of the story of Otis College; and the aesthetics and attributes revealed by the Core 10 and their invitee artists, spanning across the 90 years that have passed since the college’s inception in 1918. The resulting installation is both multifarious and generous in spirit; a series of dialogues generated through the juxtaposition of the work selected for the show’s layout. A limited edition photograph of the Reclaiming: Inter-generation artists produced in the style of Otis’ class portrait of 1928 will be offered to visitors for purchase.

In the fall of 2004, five Otis alumni took over the space of 627 S. Carondelet for an exhibition titled “Reclaiming.” This show, curated and organized by Renée A. Fox, was the first that sought to take back the building by referencing its important past as a conduit of artistic development in Los Angeles, considered today, globally, as a center of contemporary art practice. For the second inception, Reclaiming: Inter-generation, Renée has partnered with two other alums (Kate Harding and Jenée Misraje). The curatorial team aimed to expand the premise of the first show by re-addressing the notion of reclaiming, taking into account the work of alumni artists from other years of attendance. Curating and designing the show collaboratively, the team mounts a second conception that is principally driven by a checklist determined by the Core 10 (and when possible, their invitees). This second incarnation includes drawing, painting, sculpture, sound and video installation, with a roster of 20 former Otis students in total; artists who are today emerging, mid-career or internationally recognized.

For Reclaiming: Inter-generation, the original group of five artists was expanded to ten, making up the Core 10. Each of the Core 10 artists was charged with steeping themselves in Otis’ history and inviting another artist of personal significance from a different generation to present work alongside their own. These cross-generational and cross-disciplinary conversations, enacted by the participating artists would not have occurred were it not for the context of the show. For some artists, this is the discovery of the old campus and the 1920’s Spanish architecture of the building. This space once served as Otis’ administrative offices during the time the college occupied the founder’s (General Harrison Otis) former private residence. For other invited artists, this is an opportunity to step back, recall and reminisce, as many were enrolled students at Otis’s original Westlake campus.

It has been nearly 100 years since Otis’ inception as California’s first professional art school. By this acknowledgment, and by the temporary re-occupation of a historically significant space, Reclaiming: Inter-generation is an exhibition rife with interpersonal resonance in an environment imbedded with a poignant sense of its past, simultaneously spurring a conversation regarding affinities, diversity and the vitality of Otis as a common denominator.

Participating Artists and Invitees:
B&T with Bas Jan Ader
Steven Bankhead with Jeffrey Vallance
Renée A. Fox with Sandeep Mukherjee
Gajin Fujita with Timothy Tompkins
Kate Harding with Bob Glover
Sara Hunsucker with Philip Guston
Jessica Minckley with Joseph Mugnaini
Kenneth Ober with Steve Roden
Tracy Powell with Flora Kao
Holly Williams with Samantha Harrison