The Art Vacancy “TAV” is pleased to present its second annual group exhibition, Measures, curated by Sáng Huynh. Measures explores change as both inevitable and constant. Some change is immediate and cataclysmic, some comes slowly and almost imperceptibly. Change is the engine of creation and innovation. In this vein, The Art Vacancy exhibits the works of artists through all phases of their career as it explores notions of vulnerability, growth, and progression.
The linear notion of time encourages one to focus on moments as static points in the past, present, and future. Art often falls entrapped to the same mentality; stuck as a representation of the moment it’s completed. Conversely, each piece contains a life span within it, embodying all the experiences an artist has known before its conception. Measures aims to showcase this dimension of growth by exhibiting at least two works of art from each artist: one from their past, and the other, more present. This juxtaposition is meant to encourage viewers to visualize the space in between – the transitionary phase of becoming. Measures will show forty-six pieces of work from twenty artists of varying backgrounds and mediums.
The focus of an artwork, or an exhibition, is rightly often on the work itself. Measures intends to bend this focus back onto the artist; to have the inconsistent and transformative nature of their lives clearly and unmistakably represented in their works. Viewers are reminded that art is an artist’s life’s work, and consequently, the work of life. Each piece tells a story of growth: standing on the shoulders of the work before it, and burrowed as a seed for work to come. Measures asks the viewer to embark on their own journey through reflection on the works presented, and to look within. Change may be welcomed or poignant when one focuses on moments in isolation. Measures dispels this finite perception of time, and rather calls viewers to revere all moments of fruition as out-growths of an ever-evolving process.
Participating artists and origins are: Panteha Abrareshi (b. 1999; Montreal, Quebec), Torey Akers (b. 1989; New York, NY), Ioana Alexandra Niculescu-Aron (b. 1994; Bucharest, Romania), LaTonia Allen (b. 1987; Pheonix, Arizona), Diane Barthélemy (b. 1993; Bordeaux, France), Kris Burm (b. 1957; Wilrijk, Belgium), Joshua Dean (b. 1976; Chicago, Illinois), Crystal Frias (b. 1995; Brooklyn, NY), Andrew Herzog (b. 1990; Philadelphia, PA), Johanna Lietha (b. 1986; Zürich, Switzerland), Tom Levy (b.1987; Reading, England), LuLu Meng (b. 1982; Taipei, Taiwan), Justin Price (b. 1978; Los Gatos, CA), Anna Mlasowsky (b. 1984; Bautzen, Germany), Chloé Mossesian (b. 1992; Paris, France), Silvia Sanna (b. 1986; Sardini, Italy), Matthew Sprung (b. 1991; New York, NY), Jo Valandry (b. 1960; Rapid City, South Dakota) with Cheryl Halsey (b. 1952; Springfield, South Dakota), Alina Zamonva (b. 1993; Kyiv, Ukraine).
