Mysterium
May 16 - June 13, 2009
Opening reception Saturday, May 16, 6-9pm.
Kelly Kleinschrodt, nami (p.1-2), 2008. C-print, 9.5" X 12".
Kinkead Contemporary announces Mysterium, a group exhibition featuring four photographers whose imagery conjures bewilderment, performance, spectacle and trickery. The exhibition's title suggests an arena for mystery. Coincidentally, it also refers to Alexander Scriabin's unfinished work in which the Russian composer aimed to create an over the top performance which required "special artists and a completely new culture" to participate. The dramatic implications of Scriabin's performance provide a tongue-in-cheek dialog with the seemingly dramatic, yet playful work of these four photographers.
Kelly Kleinschrodt's semi-abstract images challenge the viewer's perception of time and space, depth and scale. In her most recent work Kleinschrodt deftly balances deceptive subject matter while mischievously drawing attention to an awareness of surface. The black and white photographs of Lauren Semivan make use of romantic backdrops and props from a seemingly by-gone era; her subjects are veiled and hidden, never facing the camera. This playful subversion of traditional photography creates a potential narrative for the viewer, while remaining elusive as we are unable to fully create a concrete character, time or place. Cullen Stephenson's seemingly sparse or simple images recall film stills. Stephenson's photos in Mysterium exhibit a quiet and effortless composition that belies their sophisticated fragmentation of the world. Melanie Willhide's nostalgic images pay tribute to love and romance. Both humorous and sentimental, Willhide's charming photographs hark back to a time when photography was a simple way to capture a fleeting moment or the conduit to pass along a lighthearted message.
Kelly Kleinschrodt's recent solo exhibition at Crisp London Los Angeles was seen in London and Los Angeles. Kleinschrodt has also exhibited in group shows in New York (Humble Art Foundation, 3rd Ward, Brooklyn), Massachusetts (Nave Gallery, Somerville) and Alabama (Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile) among others. Kleinschrodt received her BFA from the Art Institute of Boston, Lesley University (2005) and will begin her MFA from UCLA this Fall. Kleinschrodt lives and works in Los Angeles.
Lauren Semivan has exhibited her photographs in the Cranbrook Art Museum (Bloomfield Hills, MI), David Klein Gallery (Birmingham, MI), DCFS (Berlin, Germany) and the Cleveland Institute of Art (Cleveland, OH) among other venues. Semivan received her BA from Lawrence University (2004) and her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art (2006). Semivan lives and works in Michigan.
Since receiving his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2006 Cullen Stephenson has exhibited at Adaptation Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), Watson Gallery (Johnson City, TX), Zeitgeist Gallery (Portland, OR) and Forum Gallery (Bloomfield Hills, MI) among others. Stephenson received his BFA from the University of Kansas. He lives and works in Detroit, Michigan.
Melanie Willhide has had solo exhibitions at Bellwether Gallery in New York (2007), Real Art Ways in Connecticut (200), AOV Gallery in San Francisco (2000) and the Red Eye Gallery in Providence, Rhode Island (1999). Willhide has also exhibited in group shows at High Energy Constructs (Los Angeles), Wallspace Gallery (New York) and SF Camerawork (San Francisco). Willhide received her MFA from Yale University in 2004. She lives and works in Los Angeles.
