One Sofa, Two Films
Charles Atlas and Ryan Trecartin
08 April - 15 May 2011
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Charles Atlas, Son of Sam and Delilah ,1991
Ryan Trecartin, P.opular S.ky (Section-ish),2009
Both works stand on the threshold of life and art. Within the space of the screen, a theatricality unfolds, totally estranged from everyday life, yet at the same time mirroring it. Although considerably different in their narratives, these worlds are interlaced by a common thread of paranoia and humor.
In Atlas's Son of Sam and Delilah (1991) the mythical temporality of the bible is combined with the media chronicles on the serial killer Son of Sam, and the more unspoken Aids epidemic of the 1980's. In a glamorous and yet gloomy escalation of terror, the deeds of a killer visiting New York queer clubs is juxtaposed with performances of an opera singing and cross-dressing John Kelly. Love, sex and death in times of despair, linger on the edge of documentary and fiction.
P.opular S.ky (Section-ish) (2009), by Ryan Trecartin depicts a highly hermetic and yet highly recognizable universe, featuring over-mediated and you-tubish patterns. Inhabited by uncanny and obsessive characters, Trecartin enters a technological, yet dysfunctional universe where synchopatic splittings of the screen breed self-generated revenants. Familiar atmospheres are constantly turning frenzy through witty violence.
Involving the artists' friends in their creations, these works interfere with life through staged and improvised scripts.
Charles Atlas and Ryan Trecartin set up a theatre of cruelty that deals with a hyper reality, where queerness and unrest extend the frontiers of consciousness : a continuous battle transcending the body within a suffocating proliferation of bodies.
AC / LC / AZ
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We wish to thank the artists as well as Elisabeth Dee Gallery, Vilma Gold Gallery and the Electronic Arts Intermix for making this project possible.
Charles Atlas (1958) is an American artist and filmmaker based in New York. Many of his works have been collaborations with choreographers and performers such as Merce Cunningham, Michael Clark, Diamanda Galas, Leigh Bowery and Antony and the Johnsons. His work has been shown a.o. at the Whitney Museum, New York; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and the Tate Modern, London. He is currently participating in The Pedestrians on view at the South London Gallery, together with Mika Tajima and New Humans. In 2012 he will have a solo show in Museum De Hallen, Haarlem and participate in Bijlmer Open Source, Amsterdam.
Ryan Trecartin (1981) is an American artist and filmmaker based in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. He often collaborates with fellow artist Lizzie Fitch. He participated a.o. in Younger than Jesus, The New Museum New York (2009) and the Gwangju Biennale, 2010. His solo show Any Ever, already shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, will travel to MoMA PS1, New York and Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris later in 2011.
08 April - 15 May 2011
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Charles Atlas, Son of Sam and Delilah ,1991
Ryan Trecartin, P.opular S.ky (Section-ish),2009
Both works stand on the threshold of life and art. Within the space of the screen, a theatricality unfolds, totally estranged from everyday life, yet at the same time mirroring it. Although considerably different in their narratives, these worlds are interlaced by a common thread of paranoia and humor.
In Atlas's Son of Sam and Delilah (1991) the mythical temporality of the bible is combined with the media chronicles on the serial killer Son of Sam, and the more unspoken Aids epidemic of the 1980's. In a glamorous and yet gloomy escalation of terror, the deeds of a killer visiting New York queer clubs is juxtaposed with performances of an opera singing and cross-dressing John Kelly. Love, sex and death in times of despair, linger on the edge of documentary and fiction.
P.opular S.ky (Section-ish) (2009), by Ryan Trecartin depicts a highly hermetic and yet highly recognizable universe, featuring over-mediated and you-tubish patterns. Inhabited by uncanny and obsessive characters, Trecartin enters a technological, yet dysfunctional universe where synchopatic splittings of the screen breed self-generated revenants. Familiar atmospheres are constantly turning frenzy through witty violence.
Involving the artists' friends in their creations, these works interfere with life through staged and improvised scripts.
Charles Atlas and Ryan Trecartin set up a theatre of cruelty that deals with a hyper reality, where queerness and unrest extend the frontiers of consciousness : a continuous battle transcending the body within a suffocating proliferation of bodies.
AC / LC / AZ
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We wish to thank the artists as well as Elisabeth Dee Gallery, Vilma Gold Gallery and the Electronic Arts Intermix for making this project possible.
Charles Atlas (1958) is an American artist and filmmaker based in New York. Many of his works have been collaborations with choreographers and performers such as Merce Cunningham, Michael Clark, Diamanda Galas, Leigh Bowery and Antony and the Johnsons. His work has been shown a.o. at the Whitney Museum, New York; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and the Tate Modern, London. He is currently participating in The Pedestrians on view at the South London Gallery, together with Mika Tajima and New Humans. In 2012 he will have a solo show in Museum De Hallen, Haarlem and participate in Bijlmer Open Source, Amsterdam.
Ryan Trecartin (1981) is an American artist and filmmaker based in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. He often collaborates with fellow artist Lizzie Fitch. He participated a.o. in Younger than Jesus, The New Museum New York (2009) and the Gwangju Biennale, 2010. His solo show Any Ever, already shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, will travel to MoMA PS1, New York and Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris later in 2011.
