"Short Stories"
2001-06-15 until 2002-05-12
Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington
Seattle, WA, USA United States of America

For the next year, Short Stories provides unlimited possibilities for displaying art in the Henry's North Galleries. Taking advantage of the original Beaux-Arts building, Short Stories makes use of eight distinct gallery spaces to present art - including works from the collection, loans, commissioned projects, and challenging multi-media installations - in a series of inventive rotating exhibitions.

The presentation of both new work and permanent collection objects is a central part of the Henry's mission. Throughout the year Short Stories will feature an artist installation unfamiliar to the Seattle audience. One tale is a work by internationally recognized Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto. Flying Gloup Nave, one of Neto's most important sculptural installations, is a room-size structure that invites viewers to experience art through touch, sight and smell. Stretched nylon planes, a hanging bag of turmeric, pockets of Styrofoam pellets, and bulbous, organically-splayed teardrops filled with sand, form an amorphous and anthropomorphic, womb-like nave. Viewers are encouraged to take off their shoes and explore this aesthetically and physiologically stimulating environment, generously loaned by Seattle collectors Rebecca and Alexander Stewart. Flying Gloup Nave is on view beginning June 15th.

In the last decade, a number of contemporary artists have created three-dimensional works that elevate utilitarian objects to aesthetic grandeur or employ banal materials in a playful manner. Last year, Peter and Eileen Norton - among the world's top 200 collectors - gifted and promised the Henry twenty-two artworks from the 1980s and '90s that address these issues. Short Stories features a selection of these conceptual works by young, under-recognized artists such as Ann Agee, Chris Finley and George Stoll.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Washington

Other Important Exhibitions in Seattle