Friday opening at Creative Arts Workshop

Creative Arts Workshop Hilles Gallery
80 Audubon St., New Haven, (203) 562-4927
Sky's the Limit
Jan. 22-Feb. 12, 2010
Opening reception: Fri. Jan. 22, 5-7 p.m.

Press release

Creative Arts Workshop (CAW) features new work by the prizewinner of the 2009 exhibition Sky's the Limit, juried by Janet Echelman, internationally recognized artist specializing in public art installations and sculpture. Recent work by Jennifer Kaufman (San Francisco, CA) will be on view in the first floor of the CAW Hilles Gallery from Jan. 22 to Feb. 12, 2010, with an opening reception on Fri., Jan. 22 from 5—7 pm. The public is invited to attend; admission to the gallery is free.

This show further explores the visual objectives of Sky's the Limit, which emphasized "the ability of a work to communicate an idea experientially to the viewer," according to Ms. Echelman. Ms. Echelman selected Kaufman from the 21 artists who were included in Sky's the Limit in 2009. More than one hundred artists from across the country submitted over two hundred entries for the show.

The work of Jennifer Kaufman is an exploration of line and mark-making. "With no site of origin or origin in time, a line continues forever," says Kaufman. "The middle of a room, a wall, or a piece of sturdy paper provide me with a good place to encounter a line, engage its impulse towards fragmentation, self-revision and continuity." For this exhibition, she will present a process-based piece that moves between works on paper and site-specific installation, using simple materials including tape, graphite and ink.

The exhibition will also feature installations by two Merit Recognition honorees from Sky's the Limit. Melanie Rose Peterson will transform CAW's elevator from a simple vehicle into an all-encompassing, imaginative experience. Using biodegradable packing peanuts and plastic wrap, she will apply a textured surface to the elevator walls, allowing the viewer to be entirely surrounded by the work for the brief duration of a trip between floors. Rachel Newsam and Vaclav Sipla will present Loom, an installation of wave-like forms mounted on the walls of the second floor of the Hilles Gallery. Inspired by the over-and-under motion of a weaving loom, the undulating forms will transform the space into a soft, biomorphic room, altering the journey the viewer takes through it.