The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
‘Theaters of Fiction’
CLINTON, N.Y. >> Hamilton College’s Wellin Museum of Art invites the public to “Theaters of Fiction” — works that address the theater and opera’s historic significance and association with power, privilege and wealth.
The exhibition includes more than 20 works created in the last two decades, including paintings, photography and installations by seven international contemporary artists.
The exhibition runs through June 9 and is free and open to the public.
The artworks focus on the space of the theater; particularly its architecture and physical trapping. Artwork highlights the role that environment and surroundings play in shaping the experience of theatrical production. The artists call attention to the fact that the spaces in
which fiction is staged are never neutral or objective.
All with divergent practices, the artists explore themes of illusion, power, escapism, and artificiality. They include: Rhona Bitner (American), Ceal Floyer (British), Candida Höfer (German), Lisa Kereszi (American), Guillermo Kuitca (Argentinian), Hiroshi Sugimoto (Japanese) and Carrie Mae Weems (American). All of the works engage in a dialogue around image creation, art production, and the audience/viewer, in a highly self-reflexive man- ner.
Katherine Alcauskas, the Wellin’s collections curator and exhibitions manager, curated this exhibition.
“Rather than depicting actors or audience members, these artists look outside the performance itself to the space in which it unfolds,” Alcauskas said.
As part of the interactive and exploratory Wellin Works series, an experimental, pop-up theater space will accompany the exhibition and will host courses, a range of activities, and exhibition-related programming between Feb. 16 and April 14.