FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Family First?

Curated by Jennifer Jankauskas

January 6 - February 4, 2006

Opening Reception: Friday, January 6, 2006 5:00 - 8:00pm

Artists featured in the exhibition: Albert Chong, Zuzanna Janin, Christopher Miner, Anneè Olofsson, Karen Skloss and Francine Spiegel

Skestos Gabriele Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of its first group exhibition, Family First? on January 6, 2006. The exhibition was organized by independent curator Jennifer Jankauskas and includes film, photography, and sculptural installation by six artists from around the world.

In this exhibition, Jankauskas investigates the varied concepts and ideals of what specifically comprises a family in modern society. The family is a universal bond—everyone belongs to some sort of family and it is an essential component of every culture. A family can provide one of the best sources of strength and encouragement or, conversely, can be an immense source of anxiety and disappointment. Much of this can be attributed to the designated roles each person assumes based upon the expectations of parents, siblings, partners or children, all generating almost prescribed behaviors that actively affect the development of an individual's character, and particularly their self-identity. Utilizing a variety of media, each artist touches on assorted aspects found within a family dynamic: commonalities or differences, intimacy or emotional independence and, in some cases, the alienation that develops as an individual defines him/herself in opposition to the family unit. Delving beneath the myth of a traditional "picture perfect family," the works in the exhibition reveal shared bonds between family members and, in some cases, expose the tension, disconnection and dysfunction that is often hidden.

Albert Chong's (Boulder, CO) photographic combinations of objects—which are both representative of his Chinese, African and Jamaican ancestry and are offerings to his ancestors—and found family portraits function to empower and examine physical memory. The artist's photographs link him intimately to his forebears while portraying each subject and their experiences in a strongly individualized manner. Crafting her own image in video and photographic objects, Zuzanna Janin (Warsaw, Poland) combines and integrates her likeness with fragments of the other women in her family—grandmother, mother and daughter. She depicts the formation of self as a compilation of shared history and emotions along with genetics. In his family portrait, Christopher Miner (Queens, NY) plays with contradictions as he vacillates between his longing to be part of a "picture perfect family" while being critical of his parents and siblings. By portraying ordinary daily encounters the artist expresses the emotional ambiguity in his relationships. Although a solitary female figure (the artist) is featured in the series of photographs titled Skinned by Anneè Olofsson (Sweden and New York, NY), the family unit is at the core of this body of work. Shown with her father's hands grasping various parts of her body, these emotionally charged works confront issues of power relations, family links and the fine line between affection and aversion while illustrating the artist's struggle to break free of familial bonds. Video artist and filmmaker Karen Skloss (Austin, TX) uses her camera to elucidate the differing dynamics and social constructs that affect relationships. In one work she uses dual-monitors and a direct narrative to document the reality of single parenthood. In another film, she features a traditional nuclear family in the manner of a conventional family portrait. The large-scale mixed media "pelts" of Francine Spiegel (upstate New York) are combinations of unrelated website images, studio rubble, found imagery and raw materials. Her sprawling creations act as shed skins that document identity and various familial relationships. Her unusual juxtapositions emanate a palpable tension while depicting both isolation and forged connections between individuals.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Friday, 11:00am - 6:00pm, Saturday 12:00 - 5:00pm.

Please contact the gallery for more information at 312.243.1112 or info@skestosgabriele.com.