Artpace Announces Kota Ezawa Exhibition In The Hudson (Show)Room

July 27 – October 15, 2006
6.21.06

Media Contact: Libby D. Tilley
t 210 212 4900 x323
f 210 212 4990
ltilley@artpace.org
www.artpace.org

San Antonio, TX – San Francisco-based Kota Ezawa isolates and reworks iconic media moments in his animation-based videos, films, slide projections, and lightboxes. Appropriating well-known footage such as the last several minutes of the OJ Simpson trial, Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s hotel-room protest, and the on-screen psychological terror of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Ezawa’s videos graphically flatten the imagery into blocks of cartoon colors that focus attention on the minimal movements of eyes and lips: the subjects’ engagement with the cameras.

In his lightbox and slide series collectively titled The History of Photography Remix, Ezawa similarly treats seminal photographs by Nan Goldin, Diane Arbus, Alfred Stieglitz, Walker Evans, and others that have shaped the camera’s role in contemporary art and everyday life. Referencing theoretically acclaimed and widely-read Susan Sontag’s book about photography, the project materially and conceptually draws together critical discourse and popular culture to reflect upon image-based modes of understanding history.

Born in Germany, Kota Ezawa studied at the Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf, Germany and the San Francisco Art Institute, CA before receiving an MFA from Stanford University, CA in 2003. He has had solo exhibitions at the Wadsworth Antheneum, Hartford, CT (2005) and the Santa Monica Museum of Art, CA (2005), as well as Murray Guy, New York, NY (2005) and Haines Gallery, San Francisco, CA (2003). Ezawa also exhibits internationally, recently participating in I still believe in miracles: 1. drawing without paper, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France (2005) and the 2004 Shanghai Bienniele, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China.

Exhibition Details and Related Events

Exhibition Dates
July 27 – October 15, 2006
Reception and Artist Walk-Thru
July 27, 2006: reception 6:30-8:00 PM, walk-thru 7:00 PM

Brown Bag Lunch
Wednesday, September 9, 2006, 12:00-1:00 PM
Join Curator Kate Green for a provocative tour about the art of creating art by California-based artist Kota Ezawa and a brown bag lunch provided by Sip ($6.50). Please call Artpace for menu and reservations.

WindowWorks: Ethel Shipton
June 15 – September 10, 2006
Whether making a mark on paper, a sculpture for the wall or an intervention in the public realm, San Antonio-based Ethel Shipton consistently challenges context and draws on the power of the unexpected. Shipton will engage the indoor/outdoor nature of creating work for an interior space that is primarily experienced from the exterior.

New Works: 06.2 – International Artist in Resident Program
Luz María Sánchez (San Antonio, TX)
Gerda Steiner & Jörg Lenzlinger (Uster, Switzerland)
Do-Ho Suh (New York, NY)
Thursday, July 7 – September 10, 2006

ArtTalks: Kota Ezawa
September 21, 2006, 6:30 pm
During FotoSeptiembre, Kota Ezawa will return to San Antonio for a lecture delving into the history of film editing and how it has informed the genesis of the music video. Highlighting the contributions of such practitioners as Hans Richter to Walt Disney, Bruce Conner to Nam June Paik, Ezawa will chronicle filmic techniques in which rhythm and images become inseparable.

About Artpace
Artpace San Antonio serves as a laboratory for the creation and advancement of international contemporary art. Artpace believes that art is a dynamic social force that inspires individuals and defines cultures. Our residencies, exhibitions, and education programs nurture the creative expression of emerging and established artists, while actively engaging youth and adult audiences.

Artpace is located downtown at 445 North Main Avenue, between Savings and Martin streets, San Antonio, Texas. Free parking is available on the corner of Savings and N. Flores streets. Artpace is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5 PM, Thursday, 12-8 PM, and by appointment. Admission is free.

Artpace San Antonio is supported by Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Neiman Marcus, Nimoy Foundation, Valero Energy Corporation, Texas Commission on the Arts, H-E-B, a grant from the Ruth Lang Charitable Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, the William and Salomé Scanlan Foundation, AT&T, The Nordan Trust, Matthews Family Foundation, Target, The Brown Foundation, Inc., the Amy Shelton McNutt Charitable Trust, the Make Your Mark Circle, and the Friends of Artpace.

445 North Main Avenue San Antonio TX 78205 t 210 212 4900 f 210 212 4990 www.artpace.org