Surrealist-inspired "Betwixt & Between" opens Thursday at Artspace in New Haven

Artspace
50 Orange St, New Haven, (203) 772-2709
Betwixt & Between
Nov. 11, 2010—Jan. 22, 2011
Opening reception: Thurs., Nov. 11, 6—8 p.m.
Artspace Underground: Sat., Nov. 13, 9 p.m.—midnight

Press release

Betwitxt & Between is a group exhibition of contemporary short videos that inject the ordinary domestic landscape with existential content and psychological slippages. Informed by the visual and conceptual strategies of the Surrealists, and echoing their simple, direct methods for constructing dream-like experiences, the artists in Betwixt & Between create works that reveal the authority, alienation, and desire embedded in everyday objects and occurrences.

Exploring the flexibility and contradictory nature of the medium, the artists construct nonnarrative videos that recall the emotional freedom of childhood; the curiosity of wonderment and the intrigue of the forbidden underscore many of the works exhibited. Mundane settings and items are repurposed in unexpected ways to glimpse into worlds uncertain and fantastic. Within these haunted realms, time is stretched, condensed, and fractured to unsettling effect.

The title of the exhibition references Albert Camus’s 1937 collection of short writings, L’Envers et l’endroit (Betwixt and Between) in which the author describes the joys and complexities of being in an ambiguous, intedeterminate space while emphasizing the romantic paradox of human existence. That“there can be no love of life without despair of life” is a sentiment articulated throughout Betwixt & Between.

Although the artists assembled in the exhibition vary in style and practice, their works share an unexpected beauty, and reveal a common aspiration to bring new awareness to the body and consciousness by questioning the moral ambiguity of the ordinary in surprising and often humorous ways. Participating artists include Terry Fox (Web), Nadia Hironaka (Web), Alex Hubbard (Web), Takeshi Murata (Web), Jeff Ostergren (Web), Delphine Reist (Web), Hiraki Sawa (Web), Carrie Schneider (Web), and Tom Thayer (Web).

Betwixt & Between will mark the second time that Swiss artist Delphine Reist has exhibited in the United States. Betwixt & Between is organized by Liza Statton.

An opening reception will be held Nov. 11, 2010, from 6—8 p.m. On Sat., Nov. 13, from 9 p.m—12 midnight, we'll celebrate the surreal once more with another Artspace Underground—gathering cutting-edge performances and experimental time-based art in our gallery. The evening will feature performances by Brooklyn-based dream-pop duo Magnetic Island (Web), local indie-pop band EULA (Web), and New York City jazz impresarios Moon Hooch (Web). Drinks will be provided by 116 Crown, and the event is curated by Madison Moore.

On Jan. 20, 2010, Artspace will host a one-night-only live event, in which choreographers Rachel Bernsen and Adele Myers will execute original performances prepared in dialogue with select video works on view in the gallery. Cathy Edwards, Director of Performance Programs at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, will lead a post-performance discussion with the dancers and several exhibiting artists.

Artspace is New Haven, Connecticut's leading alternative space, and is located in the historic Ninth Square district. Artspace's mission is to connect artists, audiences, and resources; to catalyze artistic activity; and to redefine art spaces. This season's exhibitions and programs are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, City of New Haven Economic Development, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, TD Bank, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale University, other area businesses and individual Friends of Artspace.

Betwixt & Between will be on view until Jan. 22, 2010. Artspace is free and open to the public Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12 noon—6 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 12 noon—8 p.m. The gallery will be open by appointment only from November 20—27, and December 18 through January 12. Visit us online at www.artspacenh.org.