UH’s Blaffer Gallery to host three exhibits beginning this week

By Leticia Vasquez
Editor

It has never been done before, but the University of Houston’s Blaffer Gallery will have three very different exhibits on display when its doors open Jan. 17.

“This is an experimentation with how museums present artwork to audiences,” said Alexandra Irvine, Blaffer Gallery director of public relations. “We’ve always called ourselves a laboratory for the arts, and this is a perfect example of that.”

“Inset,” an exhibition organized by Atopia Projects, comprised of artist Fraser Stables and independent curator and critic Gavin Morrison, will feature the works of Alec Finlay, Jens Haaning, Kelly Mark, Jonathan Monk, N55 and Deborah Stratman. It’s the first Atopia Projects exhibit to be held in the United States.

For “Inset,” Scottish artist Alec Finlay will lead 12 poets in a “renga” — a poetry-writing circle based upon Japanese haiku. The poems will be displayed at Blaffer Gallery.

Danish artist Jens Haaning’s project relates to immigration and the foreigner. Haaning will design a poster displaying a joke written in Arabic that will be posted at various locations around Houston.

Kelly Mark will enact a new version of her performance “Hiccup.” The Canadian artist will stage unannounced performances in public places, placing her synchronized routine against changing backgrounds.

British artist Jonathan Monk will utilize various media to reflect the relationship with historical artifacts and events. His ongoing text series of numbered “meetings” — each providing a location, time and future date — invites speculation as to the details, purpose and likelihood of the gathering. One of these imaginary meetings will be displayed at Blaffer.

N55, a collaborative team based in Copenhagen, will present two projects for “Inset.” LAND aims to challenge the notion of private land through the renegotiation of access rights to sites around the world. SHOP offers a currency-free place of exchange within the gallery, where visitors can contribute items for others to use, borrow or swap.

Filmmaker and artist Deborah Stratman will ask Houstonians to submit personal disaster evacuation routes, which will be incorporated into a calendar and then displayed in the gallery.

Stables also will display some of his personal work coinciding with his collaborative project.
“Solo Shoot” will explore oral storytelling, which Stables will present via his newest double-channel video installation. The exhibit will be on display in the upstairs gallery.

“These are not traditional artworks. This show gives us the chance to reach out to architects, designers and other members of the art community,” Irvine said.

In “Trespassing: Houses x Artists,” contemporary artists were invited to rethink and reinvent the house as a spatial and social entity, Irvine said. Unrestricted by finances, site condition and other limitations, the artists’ creations challenge the public to think outside the box.

“Trespassing: Houses x Artists” will be displayed in the downstairs gallery.

“These are not things you will find in a lot of other places,” Irvine said. “Just the disparity among the three shows, I think, will spark some interesting conversation.”

All exhibits will be displayed from Jan. 17 – March 14.