Artists Luca Antonucci & Carissa Potter, owner-operators of San Francisco’s Colpa Press and Edicola Newsstand, will appear in the Kala Gallery Saturday, December 15, to discuss their recent projects and collaborative history.
For the past two years, Colpa Press has dedicated itself to challenging the independent publishing community by producing work that examines the print form in the age of digital media. Its publications investigate the relationship between printmaking and concept; every production decision is motivated by this dialogue. As Colpa Press, Antonucci and Potter also curate site-specific events that address the history of the location as well as the future of re-purposing these spaces.
In March of 2012, Colpa Press opened Edicola, a re-purposed newsstand/kiosk on San Francisco’s Market Street, selling artist books, fine art prints, independently published periodicals, and records. To date, Colpa has brought over 100 artists to the kiosk and hosted and/or curated over a dozen events on Market Street and other venues.
Recent recipients of the 2012 Alternative Exposure grant, Colpa plans to continue expanding its line of art books, and to open new and unusual venues for their distribution.
Luca Antonucci is interested in the way space is defined, in both public and literary terms. His work is often a re-negotiating of historical incidents from the perspective of varying technical faculties. | Carissa Potter‘s practice is a careful investigation of intimacy both publicly and privately. Carissa’s prints and small-scale objects are meant to integrate into retail environments and point to the hopeless romanticism of consumer products.
Artist Talk with Colpa Press’ Luca Antonucci & Carissa Potter – Saturday, December 15, from 6-8PM in the Kala Gallery. 2990 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702 / 510-841-7000
Archana Horsting and Yuzo Nakano co-founded Kala Art Institute in 1974 with
“Actual Scale” – Exhibition & Opening Reception
Kala Art Institute is proud to present “Actual Scale,” a group exhibition that explores visual discrepancies and disorienting shifts in scale, and includes new works in photography, video, sculpture and drawing. Seven visual artists—as well as a studio collective which includes three children—investigate aspects of the relativity of scale. The resulting images and objects range from the highly miniaturized to the dramatically over-sized.
The exhibition is comprised of artists approaching the topic of scale from a variety of diverse vantage points: The use of digital tools and technology is represented, alongside works that feature a high level of hand-produced craftsmanship. Other unlikely pairings include works that investigate imaging, based on detailed scientific study, next to works underscored by a witty materiality and child-like playfulness. In their juxtapositions, the works of Actual Scale suggest that Alice might have actually exited Wonderland through a rabbit-hole, only to find herself inside a fantastical diorama, climbing a mountain of children’s socks.
Joshua Band uses photography and digital tools to expand our experience of the landscape. Joshua creates elaborate photographic installations that pull real world images into a collision of two dimensional flatness and re-structured three-dimensional space, where any sense of proportion and relational scale have been completely shattered.
Kevin Chen and Amber Stucke are both working at a highly skilled level of draftsmanship with their attention focused at opposite ends of the spectrum of scale. Kevin presents a series of drawings that offer up intricate views of urbanscapes that are so extraordinarily miniaturized and finely rendered that a magnifying glass accompanies each work. Amber Stucke essentially works in the reverse by examining microscopic scale with large scale results. Amber’s elegant large format drawings present vastly magnified scientific images of biological symbiosis that would normally be invisible to the naked eye.
Llewelynn Fletcher and Phil King each present works that are re-created objects of simple domestic usage. Llewelynn Fletcher up-ends our sense of the physical body and objects of comfort and stability by skewing the relationship of expected scale. Llewelynn’s perfectly crafted yet wildly over-sized furniture-inspired works dwarf the viewer, creating an Alice in Wonderland moment of disorientation. Phil King utilizes laser cutting tools to fabricate a table-top tableaux of simple everyday objects. Each object is actually produced at the correct scale, yet are crafted from non-functional materials such as paper and cardboard. Together, Phil’s non-functional objects create an imaginative playground for viewers to jump in and share their experience.
Renée Gertler explores our understanding of astronomy by creating sculptural models that are based on scientific diagrams. The work processes a witty humility that underscores the incomprehensible task of representing the vastness of our solar system and beyond.
Nadim Sabella meshes highly detailed iconic architectural models with photographic and video presentations that call into question authenticity and actual scale. Much of Nadim’s small-scale constructed realities are facing looming disaster—yet in a photograph it’s difficult to ascertain if the image is genuine or a fabrication.
Verdstein Studio is a family-based collaborative project headed by video artist Ellen Lake. Ellen, her partner Chris Green, and their children Sam, Josie and Ruby investigate the private world of childhood. Verdstein Studio presents a series of photographs and video documentation sharing secret miniature worlds.
Please join us for a Gallery Conversation with the artists on Saturday, March 16 at 2:00 pm. The event is free of charge and open to the public.
“Actual Scale”
February 21 – March 30, 2013
Artists’ Reception: Thursday, February 21, 6-8 PM
Gallery Conversation with the Artists: Saturday, March 16, 2:00 pm
Kala Gallery, 2990 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702