NAPOLEON

2-30 September, 2011

{Curatorial Statement by Jordan Rockford}

NAPOLEON‘s first group exhibition is inspired by the practice of commonplacing: the historical forerunner of the scrapbook, in which poems, proverbs, quotes and formulae – in short, valued wisodom – were collected. Much as the traditional commonplace book was a collection of knowledge representing an individual’s unique character, this exhibit traces our individual interests as they join together for the first time to form a collective identity. In place of aphorisms we’ve collected art, representing the shared wisdom of the stuff that turns us on. Each member of NAPOLEON has chosen work by a non-member artist (or artist team) for this inaugural group effort, sharing a little of who we are through the things that inspire us.

Much of the work presented here also addresses the commonplace as the quotidian, elevating everday objects and spaces to a heightened significance through intervention or interpretation. Playing both with text and context, the artists in this exhibition make a practice of mythologizing the mundane, creating layers of meaning interleaved with a sense of mystery and offering social critiques tinged with humor. Although the materials and techniques vary widely, there is a thread running through this work that says much about the moment we are living in and in that way stands as its own commonplace truth.

Artists: Hannah Rose Dumes, Loo Bain, Joe Boruchow, Shelby Donnelly, Nelson Figueroa, Dana McElroy, Anna Gray + Ryan Wilson Paulsen, Max Seckel, Ryan Parker, and Edward Marshall Shenk.

This weekend’s your LAST CHANCE to see the show!

Gallery hours: SAT/SUN 2pm-6pm.

And if you’re still not convinced, check us out on the artblog!