New York City
[painting in rendering by Rebecca Connelly]
Press Release:
The AICAD Studio Practice Residency is pleased to announce The Conversion of Things, our first exhibition of works by resident artists Gabriel Hopson, Rebecca Connelly, Zhijie Chang, Jill Taffet, and their mentors Sharon Butler, Aaron Johnson, and Esperanza Mayobre. The exhibition brings together a range of practices linked together by the dialog between the artists and their different translations of visual, cultural, and formal languages.
Rebecca Latourette Connolly’s oil paintings examine the dissonant space between visual perception and cognitive processing. Connolly layers figurative ephemera over ethereal abstract environments to create microcosms evocative of bodily systems such as nerve structures, neurons, and musculature.
Gabriel Hopson employs a mixed media process of montage; pinning, stacking and bagging objects such as selfies, packaging materials, hardware, to explore interconnected concepts of computer technology and identity. Hopson’s self-described Selfie Objects use 3D printing and selfie photographs to move digital identities into the physical world.
Zhijie Chang, (pronounced Jshu-tsyeh) is a Chinese photographer exploring the genre of portraiture. Her work investigates transitioning through fashion photography, photo collages and documentary photography as a reflection of her sincere interest in capturing moments of political consequence and emotional weight.
Jill Taffet's work explores time, motion and consciousness. Using the medium of digital animation she draws abstract biomorphic forms that move and react as if they were sentient beings. Together these forms create a visual language that Taffet mixes and remixes to create motion paintings and large scale media installations.
Each of the exhibiting residents worked with a mentor artist over the summer to engage in an ongoing, critical discussion of their studio practices. Additionally they participated in financial and writing workshops with Amy Whitaker (author of Art Thinking) and Paddy Johnson (publisher of ArtFCity). This summer’s mentors generously agreed to contribute works to the exhibition to continue the dialog begun in the studios.