WESTERN EXHIBITIONS: Nicholas Frank and Pedro Velez, Feb. 8 to March. 21

February 8, 2004 through March 21, 2004

"A Few Snapshots from History"
Photos documentating the installation of a
NICHOLAS FRANK show

plus

New Drawings
from PEDRO VELEZ

More info here

"A Few Snapshots from History" consists of two parts. Upon entering the gallery, the viewer is greeted with a map of Western Exhibitions superimposed over a map of the United States. Names of American waterfalls are scribbled atop this map, in the correct geographical location. As the gallery space is superimposed over the map of the US, Frank wants the viewer to imagine the gallery as the United States. On narrow white ledges rest 4 documentary style photographs depicting Frank installing sculptures of waterfalls as well as Frank discussing the installation with various Chicago and Western Exhibitions artists, including Michelle Grabner, Aaron Van Dyke, Amanda Browder as well as the gallerist. The photos retain the aesthetic of black and white art history textbook images that Frank has been using in his "Nicholas Frank Biography" book pages, reminiscent of candid images of AbEx'ers hanging out at Max' Kansas City.

The second part of this show is photographs of the waterfalls in situ. Frank claims this show documents a previous exhibit of his at Western Exhibitions called "Waterfalls of America." Frank placed sculptures of waterfalls (more specifically, water fountain relaxation devices found at pharmacies) throughout the gallery space, again corresponding to the layout of the space as if it were the United States. This exhibition may not have actually occurred. So the photo of "Wailua Falls, Hawai'i" resides just above where the sculpture of "Wailua Falls, Hawai'i" was installed in the gallery's office space, while "Crapsy Clay Falls, New York", "Horshoe Falls, South Carolina" and "Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan" are all situated outside of the gallery space proper, into the gallery director's domestic inhabitance. The map the viewer encounters at the show's entrance helps the viewer locate these, again, black and white documentary style photographs.

A curious note to the installation photos in the main gallery space: only one of the waterfalls depicted in the 4 installation photos made the current exhibition - this would be "Frank carefully arranges the stones of "Wailua Falls, Hawai'i"" - Frank exhibited 8 waterfall sculptures in "Waterfalls of America" but only 5 in situ photos in "A Few Snapshots from History." The photos that made the cut are circled on Frank's gallery/United States map.

New Drawings
from PEDRO VELEZ

Velez' tough, aggressive and profane drawings create highly personal languages, both visual and verbal. The drawings are cryptic, with invented language, including terms like Lamb UC, Bushit. RASF, with willful misspellings, all scrawled with crude materials in mostly crude forms, sometimes leavened with delicate grace notes. Velez recently relocated to Puerto Rico after 7 fruitful and tempestuous years in Chicago. These drawings reflect on his Chicago experiences, at least the negative ones, as he seems to equate Chicago with Hell. Yet they also seem to speak to his frustration with the world at large, with semi-veiled attacks at Bush and Velez' continued assault on Pierre Huyghe and Phillippe Perreno and their retirement of the Ann Lee project. Not all is negative as the drawings "Godfuck" and "Stars" might be exalting in sexual energy.

Check out this email from Pedro to Nicholas about what these drawings might mean.

1. B. There's a B Damn, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
2. Germnkarr Laa in Lamb UC, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
3. Bush It, paint and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
4. M, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
5. Bushit, ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
6. VFJPGPOD, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
7. Bush in Lamb UC, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
8. Death in Chicago, Hell in Lamb UC,
paint and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
9. Death in Chicagoland, Hell in Lamb UC,
paint and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
10. Germs in Chicagoland and in Lamb UC,
paint and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
11. GodFuck, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
12. RASF, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
13. Stars, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
14. RTH is Lamb UC, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003
15. Sleep AnnLee, collage and ink on paper, 8.5"x 11" 2003