Push Me Pull You; The Horse with No Ass
Push Me Pull You; The Horse with No Ass
Curated by Alice Clements
November 1 - December 20 , 2014
SHOW CATALOG (PDF)
PRESS RELEASE (PDF)
Charlie James Gallery is pleased to present Push Me Pull You; The Horse with No Ass, a group show curated by Los Angeles-based artist Alice Clements. The comedy of the Pushmi-pullyu in the children’s story of Dr. Doolittle is built in – the animal has two front ends and no back end. This is a show that explores physical comedy–comedy that is of and about the body, extending to the “body” of materials and the physical context of the art world – its white cubes and formal conventions. The show features work by Joshua Callaghan, Roger Dickes, Amy Green, Kristi Lippire, Christopher Michlig, Stephanie Taylor and Matt Wardell.
Approaches to physical comedy in the show include jokes or games that use scale or the medium of the proposal, elaborate systems with humorous elements and outcomes, and working with materials in a way that produces humor in subtle ways. This comedy is simultaneously literal and nuanced and is based on a careful observation of the physical world.
Joshua Callaghan (Doylestown, PA, 1969) holds an MFA from UCLA (2005), BA in Cultural Anthropology from UNC at Asheville, and is the recipient of Fulbright Fellowship to Nepal (1995). Solo exhibitions include Royale Projects, Palm Desert, CA (2014), Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles (2010, 2011), Haas & Fischer Gallery, Zurich (2008), and Bank Gallery, Los Angeles (2008). Group shows include Made in Space at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York; Neo Povera at L&M Arts, Los Angeles; and Frieze New York 2012 Sculpture Park.
Roger Dickes has been a professor of computer animation at Glendale College, where he ran the Glendale College Art Gallery from 2005-2012. As gallery director, he was involved in the presentation of around 30 exhibitions at the space. Also an artist, he has exhibited his work at numerous project spaces in Los Angeles, most notably in a solo show, entitled “Firmament Av.”, at Sea and Space Explorations in 2007. The debut of his new project, Projects/Projects, marks a departure from a labored, self-referential, concrete-object-making practice toward a more conceptual, outsourced approach that engages broad cultural themes.
Amy Green received her BFA in painting at the University of Tennessee in 1995 and her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 1997. Her paintings and installations have been shown nationally and internationally. Exhibitions include; Rolf Ricke Galerie in Cologne and the Neues Museum in Nurnberg, Galerie Karin Friebe, Mannheim, Germany, Galerie Monika Reitz, Frankfurt and Kunstverein St. Gallen Art Museum in Switzerland, Evelyne Canus Gallery, Paris, Cirrus and Susanne Vielmetter in Los Angeles and Cohan Leslie and Browne in New York, Monte Vista Projects in Highland Park, among other venues. Reviews include; The Los Angeles Times, New York Arts Magazine, Art Issues, the Basel Art Fair Catalogue and artnet. Recent shows include, “Grids, Stains, Stacks” a solo show of Green’s paintings at Monte Vista Projects in Highland park, CA and “Garden Party” a group exhibition scheduled in Fall 2013 at FOCA in LA’s Chinatown. Forthcoming in Fall 2014, Green will exhibit “ In the Company of Myrtle”, recent paintings and collaborative work with Curt Lemieux at McNish Gallery at Oxnard College and “ Jammed and Packed”, a group exhibition at Glendale College Gallery, curators; Jay Erker and Michele Carla Handel. Amy Green is represented by Galerie Schmidt Maczollek in Cologne, Germany.
Kristi Lippire makes large scale objects that reference the visual culture that surrounds her every day. The sculptures are explorations in scale and material, isolating moments in everyday life that are found to be interesting in a manner that emphasizes the humor of a complex social culture. Kristi Lippire received her MFA from Claremont Graduate University and her BFA from California State University, Long Beach. Lippire is currently working on two books of her work to accompany a forthcoming solo exhibition at Commonwealth & Council in Los Angeles next year. Lippire was part of the traveling exhibition Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy that opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and traveled to Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Orange County Museum of Art and Nasher Museum at Duke University. Lippire also curates independent projects for different spaces and has also participated and organized multiple guerilla art projects in Los Angeles and Mexico. She has exhibited with d.e.n. contemporary art and Ace Gallery, with recent group exhibitions at the Torrance Art Museum, Glendale Community College and The Riverside Art Museum. She has a forthcoming solo exhibition at Commonwealth & Council in Spring 2015 and a F.O.C.A. project in late Spring 2015. Kristi Lippire lives and works in Los Angeles.
Christopher Michlig works in a wide range of media, primarily focusing on the manipulation of public formats of communication. His work has been exhibited internationally; Recent one-person exhibitions include Processed World at Giuseppe Pero, Milan. His work has been published and reviewed in a number of publications, and he is the co-author of the recently released book, In the Good Name of the Company: Artworks and ephemera produced by or in tandem with the Colby Poster Printing Company, published by ForYourArt/Picture Box and distributed by D.A.P. Michlig received an MFA in Sculpture from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California in 2007. He is currently an Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts, Department of Art.
Stephanie Taylor is a sound and visual artist based in Los Angeles. She has exhibited and performed her work at Los Angeles County Museum of Art at Charles White Elementary (2011); Contemporary Arts Foundation, Santa Barbara (2011); the MAK Center for Art and Architecture, West Hollywood (2011); and the Generali Foundation, Vienna (2007). Her books include The Stephanie Taylor Songbook, (Ood Press, 2010) and Chop Shop (Les Figues Press, 2007). Her work is represented by Galerie Christian Nagel, Germany and Marc Jancou Contemporary, New York, and is included in the permanent collections of MOCA, Los Angeles and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (as part of LAMOA).
Matt Wardell seeks to prolong a sense of wonder and place the viewer in a lingering position of active assessment. He is interested in how we choose to live and introducing work that facilitates these investigations. Wardell enjoys walking on fences, answering wrong numbers, and giving directions to places he does not know. Uncomfortable laughter, confusion, and irritation tend to be by-products of Wardell’s works. He has exhibited at venues throughout the US and Mexico, including the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco (SFMOMA), Claremont Museum of Art in Claremont, and at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), REDCAT, PØST, Human Resources, Black Dragon Society, Mark Moore Gallery, and Commonwealth and Council, all in Los Angeles. Wardell is a founding member of the artist collective 10lb Ape.
Alice Clements is an artist and curator who employs materials outside their intended use, finding humor in unlikely places as she engages in an ongoing process of experimentation. She works in sculpture and collage. Recent shows include Elephant, Los Angeles, University Art Museum at California State University, Long Beach, Jancar Gallery, Los Angeles, and Glendale College Art Gallery. Recent curatorial projects include “Mostly Sculpture Show” at Sea and Space Explorations in Los Angeles and “Side Project” at PØST in Los Angeles. She earned a BA from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT an MFA from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena.
Installation
