GOING OUT: Photographs of People at Play
Curated by 511 Projects for Gensler, Inc.
A group exhibition by 11 contemporary artists
12 September 2012 - 29 October 2012
511 Projects is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition, Going Out, at Gensler, Inc., the architecture and design firm located at 1230 Avenue of the Americas, 15th Floor, New York City, with a reception on Wednesday, September 12th at 5:30 p.m.
The exhibition features the photographs of eleven contemporary artists who capture people at play -- preparing for, on their way to, or immersed in an evening out. Each photograph presents a different scenario in which persons are extending past their normal physical environment in order to get away, if only for a short time. Each composition tells a story, from a diner in Upstate New York, to a hair salon in Havana, Cuba. "Going out" is a phrase that fosters dialogue, rather than describing any one situation. And while the principal impetus of Going Out is to witness side by side the differing and sometimes similar rituals of various cultures' recreational habits, it is also to visualize the effect that architecture has on our physical movements.
Gensler, the prominent architecture and design firm, is the ideal setting for this exhibition, which is rooted in the interpretation of physical space. The photographs in this show are not meant to delineate a specific explanation of spatial experience, but rather to present questions to the viewers about how people and architectural space relate. The artists are linked by two primary sub-texts: they document the events that define being out, while illustrating the role that physical space plays on how our bodies move. Yet, by no means should the interpretation of these works be limited to these particular themes. The photographers of Going Out represent a diverse range of locales, ages, and backgrounds. Bruce Blakeney, Tria Giovan, Cig Harvey, Vaughan Judge, Gillian Laub, Lucy Levene, Libby McLinn, Romaine Orthewein, David Pace, Maritette Pathy Allen, and Rebecca Soderholm each present a unique approach to the themes of social, physical, and spatial interaction. Going Out thus makes real the issues involved between people and the physical spaces they inhabit, while illuminating what it means to "go out".
Going Out is curated by Elizabeth Iacullo and Mara Miller, for 511 Projects and Gensler, Inc.