Gallery Reception on Nov. 11, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.; Public Lecture on Nov. 12 at 10 a.m. in the Barton Art Galleries
WILSON, N.C. — Prepare to be amazed at the artistic works on view in the Barton Art Galleries newest exhibition titled “Slow-Motion Visions” by acclaimed artists Steve J. Gerberich and Fred Burton. The opening reception for the exhibition is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 11, from 4-6 p.m. Also, on Monday, Nov. 12, there will be a public lecture about the exhibition at 10 a.m. in the Barton Art Galleries. These events are open to the public free of charge, and the community is invited to attend. Gerberich’s and Burton’s “Slow-Motion Visions” will be on display from November
1 – December
12.
Immediately following the opening reception, Gerberich and Burton will be the featured speakers for a Barton College Friends of Visual Arts Dinner and Lecture on Sunday evening, Nov. 11. The dinner and lecture is by invitation only for members of the College’s Friends of Visual Arts. For membership details, please contact Frances Belcher at 252-399-6357 or email fbelcher@barton.edu.
A self-proclaimed lover of hand tools or any useful invention without a power cord, Gerberich turns discarded labor-saving devices into a wealth of fantastical sculptures. Push a button or spin a crank, and these marvels come alive: buzzing, whirring, squeaking, humming, clanking, chugging, flashing, and blinking. From the Kettle Head Choir to the Springs, Sprockets & Pulleys collection, this is analog work for the digital age.
In the mid 1980s, with a University of Northern Iowa photography degree in his pocket, Gerberich moved to New York. The vivid images he had been refining quickly morphed into window installations. Items that had previously been happy to live within his viewfinder now enjoyed more expanded environs, like SoHo storefronts. Some of the sculptor’s myriad influences are Cornell, Rauschenberg, Duchamp, Tinguely, Kienholz, and his late brother, Tim. He’s also perpetually exhilarated by music.
His famed Brooklyn studio – a Williamsburg laboratory of thingamabobs whose compatibility is always being tested – holds a vast and odd collection of recycled resources. From moose heads to hand beaters, he finds magical uses for all. And, his processes aren’t secret. He leaves an open invitation for friends to join him in his experiments. Come on in and get Gerbo-ized. There’s always work in progress.
Burton’s displayed art is considered correspondence art or “mail art.” All 1,000 Burton pieces in the exhibition were sent to Gerberich over the years.
Burton is a professor at the Memphis College of Art where he has taught since 1987. His paintings, drawings and woodcuts have been exhibited in Paris, Vence, London, New York City, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Lincoln and Orlando. Burton has held residencies at the Edward Albee Foundation, Montauk, Long Island; the Michael Karolyi Foundation, Vence, France; Altos de Chavon in the Dominican Republic; the Tyron Guthrie Center in County Monaghan, Ireland; the Millay Colony for the Arts, Steepletop, Austerliz, New York; the Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois; the Woodstock School of Art in Woodstock, New York; and the Morris Graves Foundation, Loleta, California. He has written art criticism for “Art Papers,” “The Commercial Appeal,” and “Number.”
For additional information about the events or the exhibition, please contact Bonnie LoSchiavo in the Barton Art Galleries at 252-399-6477 or email: artgalleries@barton.edu.
END
Questions? Contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.