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September Issue
2010
Redux Contemporary
Art Center in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Cari Freno and
Travis Graves
Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, SC, is presenting the exhibit, I am Two With Nature, featuring the works of Cari Freno and Travis Graves, on view through Sept. 4, 2010.
These two artists have seemingly similar subject matter, grounded in nature, however the juxtaposition of the works will reveal two distinct inspirations. Freno's work explores a relationship between nature and self, while Graves focuses on natural and societal connections.
Freno uses both the natural and civilized worlds to establish a context to understand her own physical presence and psychological existence. By documenting intimate experiences in a public park environment, she is challenged to open up to some kind of unknown experiential relationship with the landscape and the life forms found within. Freno's videos are a kind of self-surveillance, fostering absurdly promiscuous behavior when she is alone in front of a camera. These "secret acts," which she conjures as if they exist within a realm of magic, science fiction, or spirituality, are sincere attempts at self actualization.
Graves' artwork is rooted in addressing notions of expectation and cultural attitudes as it defines people's relationship to the natural world. He uses the manipulation of natural materials as a metaphor for society's dependence on nature and ultimately its influence over it. The choice of familiar materials and subjects, such as trees, plants, the landscape, and recycled materials clearly reference the natural world while simultaneously invoking their cultural identity. He looks to point out the obvious, yet often ignored connections that exist between the natural world and the cultural attitudes and practices that are projected on it.
For further information
check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Center at
843/722-0697 or visit (www.reduxstudios.org).
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