Friday opening at Zilkha Gallery at Wesleyan

Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University
238 Washington Ter., Middletown, (860) 685-3355
Sasha Rudensky: Photographs
Olga Chernysheva: March
Jan. 24—Feb. 15, 2009.
Opening reception: Fri., Jan. 23, 5—7 p.m.
Artist talk at 5:30 p.m.

Press release

In her first major solo exhibition Sasha Rudensky will present two photographic series at Wesleyan University's Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery: "Remains" (2004/08) and "Demons" (2007-08). In "Remains," Rudensky, who was born in Moscow in 1979 and moved to the US in 1990, explores the political and social transformation of the former Soviet Union by poignantly focusing on the intimate details of everyday life. "Demons," a series of hybrid portraits suggests a fantastical version of the artist's childhood.

Russian artist Olga Chernysheva is represented by March (2005), a looped video projection. Chernysheva's films and photographs wryly scrutinize the post-Soviet experience. March observes the pomp and absurdity of a military-style celebration that includes boy guards, cheerleading pom-pom girls, and assorted local dignitaries in a searingly awkward, often humorous, exposé of the ornamentation of power.

Photographs and March run from Sat., Jan. 24 through Sun., Feb. 15, 2009. The public is invited to attend the opening reception on Fri., Jan. 23 from 5—7 p.m., with an artist talk at 5:30 pm. Gallery Hours: Tuesday—Sunday, noon—4 p.m.; Friday noon—8 p.m. The Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery is located at 283 Washington Terrace in Middletown, Connecticut. For more information visit www.wesleyan.edu/cfa or call 860-685-3355.

Sasha Rudensky received a BA from Wesleyan University (2001), a MFA from Yale University School of Art (2008) and has been a Visiting Professor of Art at Wesleyan since 2003. Olga Chernysheva has exhibited internationally including the Venice Biennale (2001); MoMA, New York (solo screening) (2008); and Lunds Konsthall, Sweden (2008).