Current Exhibiton

“Unconventional Wisdom” features the print works of Ruthann Godollei and Mike Elko. Both use text humorously against familiar backdrops. Godollei’s work is generally devoid of people, but it is always full of their stuff: kitchen tools, iPods, and clocks. Her current series sets these things against the terminology of the current military complex, bringing the irony of words like containment, surge, or extended tour into sharp focus. Using a black-and-white palette with an occasional hint of color, her images strip these words of their mediated meanings, unmasking them for what they really are. Mike Elko, on the other hand, brings witty dialogue to his brightly colored prints assembled from vintage print ads and current news media. Elko is a deadpan storyteller in the tradition of American humorists Stephen Colbert or the ’40s radio team Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding, contrasting contemporary political jargon with appropriated images of the American Dream.

Hardland/Heartland (HL/HL) is an artists’ cooperative helmed by Eric Carlson, Aaron Anderson, and Crystal Quinn. HL/HL dredges through the excesses of consumer culture to assemble installations and performances that are less social commentary than conceptual scrapbook of our time. For “MILLIONS OF INNOCENT ACCIDENTS,” the artists have created a landscape and narrative in what they call “an ongoing saga of grandiose proportions.” Their inspiration comes from a mélange of influences: popular culture, current events, graffiti, vector graphics, Robert Rauschenberg’s “junk aesthetic,” and the narrative of contemporary science fiction.