The1708 Gallery Satellite Exhibition opens at The Linden Row Inn.

Art as the Mother Tongue, 1708 Gallery’s latest satellite exhibition at Richmond’s historic Linden Row Inn, features works by artists from Australia, China, Ireland and the US. Curated by Richmond artist and 1708 board member Amie Oliver, Art as the Mother Tongue will open on Friday, February 4th and will be on view through spring 2011. The proceeds from all art sales benefit the artists and the exhibition programs of 1708 Gallery.

According to Oliver:
“This exhibition reflects the assimilation of time, experience and intercultural dialogue between artists from opposite sides of the globe whose communications have relied most readily on the universal language of art. These communiques became paramount to me during the Metasenta Moving Cultures Project in Tibet and China during 2009 and during a series of exhibitions and exchanges between Korean and Virginian artists begun in 2002. The world gets smaller each day, yet working on the “other side” of the planet can still have a profound affect on the studio practice and the world view of a working artist.

Much of the work in this show was initiated by Metasenta Founder and Director Dr. Irene Barberis’ “Moving Cultures Project.” It was designed to be a multi-cultural, cross-disciplinary research and exhibition collective of people, place and processes situated in the ‘civic space’ of a moving train. Other artists’ work grew from a series of Korean and American exchanges organized by Artificum of Humanitas founder Heeja Sung.

As artists assimilate the profound implications and possibilities of relying on art as our mother tongue, we embrace the struggle to communicate as one community in an increasingly complex world.

A lot of the work in this exhibition was designed to fit in a tube or a small container so that it may travel the globe and offer its maker the opportunity to communicate their experience of our moving culture – one where travel visas, customs and jet lag are only the tip of the iceberg.

This group of artists, from each corner of the planet, shares the common language of art. Some speak a few words of English, others a few works of Chinese or Korean. For others Art is the mother tongue we share… an artist statement in English is often not possible.

Their art speaks for itself. Please listen, look and read their work as it is in the global language of art.”

This exhibition would not be possible without support from The Po and Helen Chung Foundation, Metasenta’s founding benefactor and installation expertise from a Capital One exhibition team led by Francis Thompson.

The exhibition features works by the following artists:
Hetty Baiz, Princeton, NJ (mixed media paper)
Irene Barberis, Melbourne, Australia (mixed media vinyl and paper)
Mark Bryant, Buckingham County, VA (work on paper)
Melissa Chimera, Hawaii (mixed media paper)
Sarah Duyshart, Melbourne, Australia (fabric and bells, sound)
Selby Ginn, Melbourne, Australia (wax collaboration)
Matt Green, Belfast, Ireland (sound)
Hugh Makin, Melbourne, Australia (wax collaboration)
Jia Liang (Helen), Guangzhou, China (video)
Liu Ke, Guangzhou, China (ink and paper)
Andre Liew, Melbourne, Australia (mixed media and hair)
Luo Ling, Guangzhou, China (painting)
Amie Oliver, Richmond, VA (mixed media)
Thomas Papa, Manchester, Richmond, VA (painting)
Feung Li Poi, Guangzhou, China (painting)
Anne Savedge, Richmond, VA (photography)
Heeja Sung, Chesterfield, VA (collage)

To listen to Sarah Duyshart and Mark Green’s sound installation, Tibetan Bells, and to view Jia (Helen) Liang’s video piece, Untitled, please visit www.metasentamovingcultures.blogspot.com

For more information about Art as the Mother Tongue and the artists listed above, please visit www.1708gallery.org

The Linden Row Inn is an historic hotel located at 1st and Franklin Streets in downtown Richmond. Built in the 1840s, the hotel continues to offer a unique accommodation experience for travelers as well as private event spaces for professional and social gatherings. It also functions as a satellite exhibition space for 1708 Gallery.

1708 Gallery is a non-profit arts organization committed to presenting exceptional new art. 1708 Gallery is committed to providing opportunities for artistic innovation for emerging and established artists and to expanding the understanding and appreciation of new art for the public.