Sunday, March 25, 2007

The Sweet Hereafter


The Sweet Hereafter: Recent Video and Sculpture by Gosia Koscielak
Curated by Raul Zamudio
THE LAB
NY, NY July 2-12, 2007
The Sweet Hereafter is a one-person exhibition by the Polish multimedia artist Gosia Koscielak. While the title is a reference to the film by Atom Egoyan as well as a euphemism for death, The Sweet Hereafter is the antithesis to fatalism and Freudian Thanatos or the death-instinct. It’s more akin to contemporary memento mori and underscores the imperative human need to construct meaning in an ostensibly meaningless world. It uses a ubiquitous, sugar-coated colloquialism for death as foil to rethink the knowledge of impending mortality as opening up the possibility for redemption in an existential universe of uncertainty.
Gosia Koscielak poetically articulates these concerns as well as others via her digital-based new media sculpture that is a mixture of visual, olfactory, and audio elements. The Sweet Hereafter consists of a large video projection of a serene seascape that serves as metaphor for the tenacity of the human spirit to survive, prevail and supersede under any condition. In aesthetic, philosophical and sensorial dialogue with this piece is another video work projected from the ceiling onto a pile of salt on the floor that engulfs the exhibition space with smells, sounds and visuals. Rounding out the exhibition is a series of electronic LED sculptures mounted on the wall based on texts by the philosopher Paul Feyerabend. A publication will accompany the exhibition which includes works by the artist and an essay by the curator A publication will accompany the exhibition which includes works by the artist and an essay by the curator.
THE LAB (for installation + performance art) is a New York based, converted storefront turned fishbowl producing 30+ fast paced performance art and installation exhibitions annually. Aimed at furious midtown foot traffic, THE LAB’s programming is designed to confront modern relationships between art and audience and seeks to force interaction between high energy, “outerspective” exhibitions and nearly 25,000 daily passersby. It is THE LAB’s goal to reach out through the glass and capture, fascinate, amuse, bemuse, soothe, shake and satisfy any and all who pass within eye or ear shot of the corner of 47th and Lexington. For more information, call 212-339-2092, or email rogersmitharts@rogersmith.com.
THE GALLERY IS LOCATED ON THE CORNER OF 47TH STREET AND LEXINGTON AVENUEALL EXHBITIONS ARE ON VIEW 24/7
For more information regarding The Roger Smith Hotel, The Lab, or Lily’s, to speak with a representative, or to schedule a tour of the space, please contact Danielle Simone, dsimone@pitchcontrolpr.com, or Sarah Cirkiel, scirkiel@pitchcontrolpr.com, Pitch Control Public Relations, 212.475.4919.
Video documentation and narration by Matt Semler, Director of The LAB:

No comments: