INSIDE.OUT.UPSIDE.DOWN.COSMIC.SPACE

Rebecca Camacho Presents is pleased to announce the group exhibition INSIDE.OUT UPSIDE.DOWN COSMIC.SPACE. Taking pioneering French artist Marcel Duchamp’s assertion that ‘the spectator makes the picture’ as an organizing principle, the show investigates the positioning of the viewer in interior and exterior landscapes. Featuring Emily Furr, David Gilbert, Kirk Hayes, Max Jansons, Sahar Khoury, Andy Mister, Jennie Ottinger, Claire Oswalt and Andrew Pope, works on view span painting, sculpture, drawing and photography.

Engaging a dialogue defined by familiarity, the works in INSIDE.OUT UPSIDE.DOWN COSMIC.SPACE center on familiar, if sometimes fantastical, environments. The recognizability of place provides latitude for other principles; the compositions of works vary between figurative and abstract, the subjects between real and imagined. The content of the works visually overlap to create terrestrial and celestial entry points; from Sahar Khoury’s sculpture of a sleeping cat to Emily Furr’s psychedelic cosmos, David Gilbert’s photograph of a cluttered bureau, Jennie Ottinger’s densely painted panel of a bevy of women observing a meal in a men’s only dining room, Andy Mister’s drawings documenting historical unrest, Max Jansons’ radiant floral arrangement, Andrew Pope’s diminutive canvas a stately home, Kirk Hayes’ provocative trompe l’oeil tableau and Claire Oswalt’s airy skyscape.

Recognizing that an artwork is not properly complete until perceived, the position of the viewer affects not only the perception of the spatial and narrative dimensions of a piece but also influences the viewer’s aesthetic interpretation of its subject. Artist intent is a subjective translation to viewer experience. Defining elements of composition shape the vantage point for the viewer, at best positioning the audience to step inside the image plane and see from within.