Brian Ulrich: Not If But When
Press Release
Posted: February 21, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, February 21, 2006
Mississippi State University Department of Art Gallery
MS State, MS 39762
662.325.2970
http://www.caad.msstate.edu
CONTACT: William Andrews
Gallery Director
662.325.0393
wandrews@caad.msstate.edu
PHOTOS: JPEGs attached (more to follow)
Brian Ulrich: NOT IF BUT WHEN
Gallery
Starkville, Mississippi − The Mississippi State University Department of Art Gallery continues its 2006 – 2007 exhibition season with BRIAN ULRICH: NOT IF BUT WHEN. The exhibit is open February 26 through March 30 with an Artist’s Reception Thursday, March 1, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. in the gallery and another gallery talk Friday, March 2 at 11:00 a.m. in the gallery.
This exhibition will feature approximately sixteen of Ulrich’s new large-scale photographs from the series “Copia,” and “Thrift.” These immense images, some forty by sixty inches, examine the juxtaposition of the economics and cultural shift regarding the commodities that start off as products of mass production and ultimately wind up as near-refuse in thrift stores. With the photographs, Ulrich also explores sub-themes of culture in “the resting home of our once sparkling consumer goods, and the members of the social class who work and shop there making order out of the constant influx of throwaways.”
Ulrich developed this body of work over the course of the last two years, traveling across the US with a large format camera looking for elegance in the people, strange still-lifes, and mountains of discards, he found in various stores. The resulting photographs range from intimate portraits to large-scale depictions of consumer refuse. Ulrich portrays how our experience and history is evident in the products we buy and use up.
Gallery Director Bill Andrews says, “Ulrich’s message is an important one, and one that is neither subservient or overpowering to the formal qualities of the photographic images he produces.” Commenting on Ulrich’s popularity in the art world, Andrews comments, “We have a wonderful opportunity to have an artist of this nature and caliber come to our campus and community as a Visiting Fine Artist, and I hope everyone will take advantage of his presence by seeing the exhibit and meeting the artist.”
Andrews mentioned that he considers the exhibits at the gallery a collaborative, community event and that the Department of Art Gallery is supported by Mississippi State University, the College of Architecture, Art, and Design, the City of Starkville, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, the Starkville Area Arts Council, and the Mississippi Arts Commission. “We owe additional gratitude to Katie Rashid, Aliza Morell, and Rhona Hoffman of the Rhona Hoffman Gallery in Chicago. Their assistance was invaluable in providing photographs for our exhibition.” Andrews added that Ulrich would be “sticking around,” for a day or two to photograph the area.
Brian Ulrich earned his MFA from Columbia College, and holds a BFA from the University of Akron. In 2005 he had a solo exhibition that was part of the 12 x 12: New Artists/New Work series at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL. His work has been included in prominent group exhibitions including On the Scene: Jessica Rowe, Jason Salavon, and Brian Ulrich, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, and MP3: Kelli Connell, Justin Newhall and Brian Ulrich, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, for which a publication, documenting his earlier Copia series was produced and published by the Aperture Foundation as part of a trio of books on artists from the Midwest Photographers Project . On December 16th Ulrich will mount a solo exhibition, Copia, at the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA, the exhibition will run through May 13, 2007.
The Department of Art Gallery is located in McComas Hall on the Mississippi State University Campus. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed during university holidays. For more information visit http://www.caad.msstate.edu/ <http://www.caad.msstate.edu/> or call the Department of Art at (662) 325 - 2970.
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Related Files:
» brianpostersmall_1.pdf