SIMULATED Gallery Proposal with Research

Gallery proposal:  Gen Xsquisit

Tom Nail

Exhibited Artists:

Ellen Gallagher

Janine Antoni

Tom Nail

         Gallagher ’65, Antoni ’64, and Nail ’68 are all children of the cold war age.  Growing up with Vietnam winding down, scandal in the White House, and the great American decline of the late seventies, these artists represent different perspectives from the same generation.

         Ellen Gallagher uses many media to produce her third gen feminist views.  Sometimes subtle and other times shocking Gallagher addresses many social issues in her works.  She is most famous for her projections, of “well known” silhouettes in scenes that are new.

Figure 1:  Ellen Gallagher "Bird in the Hand" 2006

         Janine Antoni is a performance and installation artist.  Antoni’s installations consume entire galleries with giant looms, blocks of chocolate that weigh a ton, and other creations—which normally include the artist herself.  Antoni is known to include a piece of herself in all her work.  Antoni also very rarely leaves an art “product,” such as a painting which could be bought or sold.

 

Figure 2: Janine Antoni, "Slumber" 1993

         Tom Nail was born in segregated Alabama and lived through the integration of the state’s schools.  The juxtaposition of the three cultures in which he lived:  the poverty laden South; the burgeoning North Jersey coast; and Asheville, NC—the artistic capital of the South; the diverse communities all pulled at his values and beliefs.  His art is heavily influenced by his time as an Army paratrooper—including an long combat deployment to Iraq.  Other themes of his work include mental illness, violence (institutionalized), drugs, and social injustice.

Figure 3: Tom Nail, "Maggie" 2012, Dry Point Intaglio

         The plan for this exhibition is to have Antoni as the primary artist—because most of her work takes almost a whole gallery.  Once we have Antoni’s planned work, we can plan space for Gallagher, and finally Nail.

         The Exhibit will rent warehouse space from R.T. Barbee Co., in the rejuvenated First Ward Community of Uptown Charlotte.  The warehouse is large enough for an Antoni super-sized installation, plus many smaller rooms for other artists.  The project will be crowd funded using service to be decided.