Art Opening: Seton Gallery, University of New Haven.
Summer-Artists-In-Residence: Michael Galvin, Kyle Skar
Featured Artists: Lisa Amadeo, Nicki Chavoya, Gary Velush
September 12- 26, 2013
Opening: Sep 19, 5-9 p.m.
“Ventilation is the profound secret of existence.”
Peter Sloterdijk
Constructed Ecology aims to enhance the viewer’s spatial perception using light, sound, video, and texture. When entering the gallery space, the viewer is confronted with two luminescent cubes in a field of grass. These architectural vessels create tension between themselves and the triple-L shaped gallery.
This spatial narrative is a kin to the first day of spring, recalling the feeling of grass beneath one’s feet as one takes in a deep breath of fresh air. This exhibition blurs the lines of the natural and engineered. Subsequently, the notion of “viewing” space and “passage” through space is inhibited, forcing the viewer to slow down and interact with the work. The installation encourages one to challenge their perception of curated and regulated spaces from that of nature and the wilderness. Seton has become more experiential as two artists, Michael Galvin and Kyle Skar, work for one month as artists-in-residence. They have customized the gallery and used it as an incubator space for a large-scale project. This discovery aims to challenge the traditional views of exhibition space through an interaction with the existing architectural space. Galvin and Skar have invited two local video collaborators Lisa Amadeo and Nicki Chavoya to develop and project video content within one of the architectural vessels. Gary Velush will customize an auditory piece in the second space. Within this interdisciplinary exhibition, a variety of sensory experiences will be produced. Michael Galvin is an artist who lives and works in New Haven, CT. Born in Hartford, CT, Michael attended the Savannah College of Art and Design in 1995 where he earned a BFA in Painting with studies in Furniture/Industrial Design, and an MFA in Painting and Sculpture from the University of Hartford in 2003. He has exhibited his work in New York, Connecticut, Colorado and Georgia. Group and solo exhibitions include The Wassaic Project, Ober Gallery, The Melva Bucksbaum & Raymond Learsy collection, Winkleman Gallery and Real Art Ways. He attended a residency at the Vermont Studio Center and grants include the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Fellowship and the Vermont Studio Center Artist Grant. Galvin is currently the Gallery Manager and Visual Arts Coordinator at Artspace New Haven. He has also worked for the I-Park residency program, Walter Wick Studios and the Douglas Cramer collection.Kyle Skar is an architect and artist who lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut. His work explores the atmospheres, environments, and ecologies that modern society has created. Originally hailing from Cass Lake Minnesota, a small town 200 miles north of the Twin-Cities, Kyle’s work often relates to the threshold between the natural and urban worlds. In 2004, Kyle moved to Minneapolis to attend the College of Design at the University of Minnesota where he received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Subsequently in 2010, he attended the Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor receiving his Master of Architecture degree. After his graduate work, Kyle moved to New Haven, CT to complete a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer. He served as Dwight Hall at Yale’s first AmeriCorps member and provided crucial support in running and developing an after school program at Co-op High School a local art based magnet school. After his time at Dwight Hall, he moved on to work at Artspace in New Haven as the City Wide Open Studios Alterative Space Coordinator. Currently, Kyle works at Gregg Wies & Gardner Architects; recent exhibitions and collaborations include, On Nature at the Whitney Center - 2013, City Wide Open Studios-Alt Space - 2012, 756 Chapel Project Store Front’s Ripple Effect Exhibition - 2012, & The Re-Skinning Project - 2011. Constructed Ecology raises questions and draws awareness to the built environment, encouraging viewers to seek out natural spaces. This interdisciplinary project combines architecture, sculpture, digital media, and natural forms resulting in conversations about manufactured experiences and the air we breathe. This discourse is relevant to the development of the Seton Gallery as a cultural center for both the University and the New Haven community.
