Exhibition Dates: March 10-June 25, 2017
Opening Reception: March 10, 2017. 6 - 8pm
Hours: Fridays 3-6 p.m. or by appointment.
Artworks by Natalia Nakazawa & Cecile Chong
A contemporary art exhibition at the Old Stone House & Washington Park
Katherine Gressel, Curator
Multilocational is defined as “of, pertaining to, or being present in more than one location.” It subtly plays on the words multicultural or multinational, or of mixed ancestry or residence. For those who have migrated from one location to another--in some cases by force-- ”multilocational” also conveys the struggle (or joy) of holding on to memories of an original home while embracing a new one. As the United States currently balances the ideals of isolationism and homogenization against openness and diversity, it is important to consider how our immigrant nation has historically accommodated multiple peoples and perspectives--and the role of artists and art institutions in presenting and preserving their stories.
Artists Cecile Chong and Natalia Nakazawa have made such questions central to their practice, layering disparate materials, narratives, and appropriated cultural images in works that invoke the personal and political. Their art embodies Marshall McLuhan’s notion of “the supplanting of the linear perspective by a multi-locational mode of perception.”
Presented in the Old Stone House’s (OSH’s) Great Room gallery, Multilocational exhibits bodies of work inspired by the artists’ hybridized cultural backgrounds, OSH’s history (as a reconstructed Dutch colonial farmhouse and Revolutionary War battleground) and surrounding communities, and current events. Both educators in the NYC public schools, Chong and Nakazawa will also each present collaborative work created with local students related to the exhibition theme, and public programs to engage the larger community.
Old Stone House: http://theoldstonehouse.org/exhibitions/