Jefferey Sarmiento
Anastasia (left), Octavia (center), Thekla (right), 2010
enameled, waterjet cut and fused glass, 59 x 13 x 2 inches
photo: J. TRUPPI
Portland, OR – Bullseye Gallery presents a group exhibition of individual and collaborative works based on Italian author Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, on view August 4 through September 25, 2010.
In a series of stories told by Marco Polo to the aging emperor Kublai Khan, Calvino describes fifty-five cities whose structures, cultures and existence stretch the boundaries of reality. The Invisible Cities exhibition responds to Calvino's work through exploration of urban themes that are distinct yet intertwined.
The number of cities that include ghosts, mirrors or doubles intrigued Carrie Iverson, whose work often explores the internal structures of the body and buildings. "I became particularly interested," Iverson explains, "in the liminal area, the threshold or border where those reflective cities meet". Nathan Sandberg's work references repetition and structure. His interest lies in "the parts of the city that exist in the middle, between where you drive and walk." To Sandberg, this often-ignored arrangement suggests a never-ending structure that links all cities. "As you arrive in a new location," he continues, "it starts all over again; the color of paint may change and the surfaces may shift." Richard Parrish's layered works reference topographical elevations and explore the idea of "maps as layered memory of both past and future places". Parrish notes, "as an architect I should be interested in the cities... but I find that I am most intrigued by the journey." Jeffrey Sarmiento also draws inspiration from mapping. His maps, however, relate more to ethnography than place. The maps "don't always point from one place to another," explains Sarmiento, "instead, the works show a cultural terrain." Drawing on the striking and perplexing imagery from the novel, Sarmiento creates worlds that are as familiar as they are foreign.
Download: Invisible Cities 2010
