SCAD presents deFINE ART 2016

SCAD presents the seventh edition of deFINE ART, an annual program of fine art exhibitions, lectures, performances and public events. On Tuesday, February 16 and Wednesday, February 17, join SCAD Atlanta as it hosts a dance performance, artist gallery receptions and artist lectures in celebration of deFINE ART 2016. Full event details below.

Beau Geste performance: “Exceptional Transport: duet for a dancer and an excavator” in Atlanta

When: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 5 p.m.

Where: Peachtree Christian Church
1580 Peachtree St. NE

What: SCAD presents the remarkable outdoor performance “Exceptional Transport: duet for a dancer and an excavator” by the acclaimed French dance company Beau Geste for its annual deFINE ART program.
The lyrical performance, set to an operatic score, pits man against machine through acrobatic and elegant movements. The piece plays off the inherent dichotomies of scale, as well as the hardness and softness between its two protagonists; and in so doing, dissolves perceived differences between the mechanical and the human.
The choreographer Dominique Boivin states: “I use the arm of the mechanical digger for its functionality and dynamism, but also like a human arm that takes, pushes away or gently coaxes! The machine’s rotation is a broad movement, spectacular, but it can also be reminiscent of a merry-go-round. The digging device, whose function is to scrape, drill, transport and tip out, offers a poetic extension: a hand that carries, elevates and protects.”
This performance is free and open to the public.

Presented as part of deFINE ART 2016, which takes place Tuesday, Feb. 16 through Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.

All deFINE ART lectures, receptions and events are free and open to the public.

Reception for Jeffrey Gibson exhibition: ‘A Kind of Confession’

When: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 6 p.m.

Where: Gallery 1600
SCAD Atlanta
1600 Peachtree St. NW

What: Join us for a reception celebrating “A Kind of Confession,” the first Southeast solo exhibition by artist Jeffrey Gibson. The title of the exhibition is derived from a quote by the African-American novelist James Baldwin: “All art is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists… are forced, at least, to tell the whole story.” Gibson is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and half Cherokee, and has lived in the U.S., Germany, South Korea and England. His unique combination of global cultural influences come together in a multidisciplinary practice that intermingles elements of traditional Native American art with contemporary artistic references. Powwow regalia, intricate beading, trade blankets and stretched elk hide merge with elements of geometric abstraction, minimalism and the mid-1970s Pattern and Decoration movement in his paintings and sculptures. On exhibit from Tuesday, Feb. 2 through Friday, May 20, 2016, will be a selection of recent work, including acrylic on elk hide paintings, intricately beaded punching bag sculptures and wall hangings that incorporate text statements.
This exhibition is curated by Alexandra Sachs, executive director of SCAD FASH and Atlanta exhibitions.
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The reception, exhibition and artist lecture are free and open to the public.

Presented as part of deFINE ART 2016, which takes place Tuesday, Feb. 16 through Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.

All deFINE ART lectures, receptions and events are free and open to the public.

Reception for Lauren Clay exhibition: ‘Squash and Stretch’

When: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 6 p.m.

Where: Trois Gallery
SCAD Atlanta
1600 Peachtree St. NW

What: SCAD Atlanta presents “Squash and Stretch,” an exhibition by Lauren Clay (B.F.A. painting), who employs a variety of paper art and decorative painting techniques including papier-mâché, faux wood grain and marbleized paper to create environments that display her interest in melding painting and sculptural forms.

For the SCAD Trois Gallery, the artist will create a custom handmade wallpaper utilizing painting and printmaking techniques, which are then magnified via a high-resolution scanner and printed onto large vinyl sheets. Clay often references iconic male abstract artists as a means of investigating the role of women within the larger context of art history. For example, several of the paper pulp works in the exhibition, on view Tuesday, Feb. 16 through Wednesday, April 20, 2016, are based on Frank Stella paintings and the small sculptures are based on David Smith’s “Cubi” sculpture series. Her manipulation of scale, color and materials suffuses humor into, and gently subverts the power and authority of, the originals. In doing so, Clay visually prompts questions about gender, re-appropriation and authenticity in contemporary art.

“Squash and Stretch” is curated by Alexandra Sachs, executive director of SCAD FASH and Atlanta exhibitions.

Gallery hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public.

Presented as part of deFINE ART 2016, which takes place Tuesday, Feb. 16 through Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.

All deFINE ART lectures, receptions and events are free and open to the public.

Lauren Clay gallery talk: ‘Squash and Stretch’

When: Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2:15 p.m.

Where: Trois Gallery
SCAD Atlanta
1600 Peachtree St. NW

What: Join us for a gallery talk with SCAD alumna Lauren Clay (B.F.A. painting) as she speaks about her current exhibition, “Squash and Stretch.” Clay will discuss her custom handmade wallpaper created especially for the exhibition — on view Tuesday, Feb. 16 through Wednesday, April 20, 2016 — along with the variety of paper art and decorative painting techniques, including papier-mâché, faux wood grain and marbleized paper, that she employs in her work.

Clay will also speak about her references to iconic male abstract artists as a means of investigating the role of women within the larger context of art history. Several of the paper pulp works in the exhibition are based on Frank Stella paintings and David Smith’s “Cubi” sculpture series. Her manipulation of scale, color and materials suffuses humor into, and gently subverts the power and authority of, the originals. In doing so, Clay visually prompts questions about gender, re-appropriation and authenticity in contemporary art.

The gallery talk will be led by exhibition curator Alexandra Sachs, executive director of SCAD FASH and Atlanta exhibitions.

Gallery hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

Presented as part of SCAD deFINE ART 2016, which takes place Tuesday, Feb. 16 through Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.

All SCAD deFINE ART lectures, receptions and events are free and open to the public.

Jeffrey Gibson lecture: ‘one becomes the other’
When: Wednesday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.

Where: SCADshow
173 14th St. NE
Atlanta, Georgia

What: Join us for an artist lecture with Jeffrey Gibson celebrating “A Kind of Confession,” his first Southeast solo exhibition. The title of the exhibition is derived from a quote by the African-American novelist James Baldwin: “All art is a kind of confession, more or less oblique. All artists… are forced, at least, to tell the whole story.” Gibson is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and half Cherokee, and has lived in the U.S., Germany, South Korea and England. His unique combination of global cultural influences come together in a multidisciplinary practice that intermingles elements of traditional Native American art with contemporary artistic references. Powwow regalia, intricate beading, trade blankets and stretched elk hide merge with elements of geometric abstraction, minimalism and the mid-1970s Pattern and Decoration movement in his paintings and sculptures.
On exhibit at SCAD Atlanta Gallery 1600 from Tuesday, Feb. 2 through Friday, May 20, 2016, will be a selection of recent work, including acrylic on elk hide paintings, intricately beaded punching bag sculptures and wall hangings that incorporate text statements.

This exhibition is curated by Alexandra Sachs, executive director of SCAD FASH and Atlanta exhibitions.

Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The artist lecture, exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

Presented as part of deFINE ART 2016, which takes place Tuesday, Feb. 16 through Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.

All deFINE ART lectures, receptions and events are free and open to the public.