SO-IL (Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu): FUTURE ARCHEOLOGY
September 9, 2010 – October 2, 2010
OPENING RECEPTION: 9 SEPTEMBER 2010, 6 – 9 PM

SO-IL (Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu) bills itself as a “small office with a global reach.” Sound familiar? SO-IL was founded in 2007 as a “creative catalyst” designed to aid in any and all stages of the architectural process and “vehemently believes in realizing their ideas in the world.” Enterprises like SO-IL are not think tanks or conceptual incubators, but action-oriented businesses focused on the physical realization of their ideas across the globe.

Florian Idenburg and Jing Liu, the founders of SO-IL, will be traveling periodically to Lexington this fall to run the Brown Forman Urban Design Studio. Institute 193 is collaborating with the UK College of Design to present an exhibition that will introduce the architects and their work to the Lexington community, providing an opportunity for interaction and discussion outside of the traditional classroom setting. SO-IL’s structure and ambitious project schedule represent a model that we find particularly compelling. SO-IL is living proof that a small space can have a global reach.

Special thanks to Art Without Walls for their support.

Charles Williams, a native of Blue Diamond, Kentucky, created a vast body of work that included photography, comics, paintings, sculptures and an environmental installation and home that he referred to as Silo #3. Institute 193 and Land of Tomorrow are pleased to present the first comprehensive solo-exhibition of the late Williams’ work. This multi-venue approach will provide the viewer with an overall presentation of the artist…‘s work and will feature pieces spanning the entirety of his career. Land of Tomorrow will house larger, environmental works while Institute 193 will focus on the artist’s more intimate creations. Williams, a mercurial character who escapes easy definition, had an untold influence on the local art community that will finally be illuminated by this exhibition.

“I got me this place here and decided to do something with it. I have always had art on my mind and wanted to do something out front there that I hadn’t heard of no other person doing. I fixed up the trees to give them some new life, some color, one idea got another idea and so on down the line, each idea kept building into another idea.”

-Phillip March Jones, Creative Director

CHARLES WILLIAMS
SILO #3
OPENING RECEPTION: 7 October 2010
6 – 8 PM: Institute 193, 8- 10 PM: Land of Tomorrow

Travis Shaffer spoke to artists at Latitude this afternoon about his recent project, Eleven Mega Churches. According to the artist, “This work is interested in issues of access and diversity; land-use, suburban infrastructure, the automobile and it’s environmental impact; and the formation of isolated communal brands. It seeks to coax its audience into open dialogue about the impact of the church as a building and an institution upon our world, along with differences between its implied and actual purposes and responsibilities. As one views these works, gathered using stitched Google Satellite imagery, there is an obvious repetition of sprawling parking lots, coupled with cul-de-sac laden homogeneous housing developments and swimming pools, all icons of a distinctly American and more distinctly middle class ex-urban/suburban landscape.”

One Nail Gallery at Latitude’s studio space on Saunier Street in Lexington aims to create a dialogue amongst regional contemporary artists and the artists at Latitude. Exhibiting artists will give a short talk and spend a day at Latitude. The exchange will hopefully impact the work of everyone involved creating a deliberate bridge between Latitude Artist Community and the regional art community .

Guy Mendes: 40/40 – Forty Years, Forty Portraits from Institute 193 on Vimeo.

Institute 193 and Guy Mendes have announced the publication 40/40: Forty Years, Forty Portraits, a book that functions as a “studio tour” with Mendes. The book will trace Mendes’ career through portraits taken over the last four decades. Each photo is complimented by a written passage about the subject being photographed. Wendell Berry has agreed to write an introduction for the book which will be available November 1, 2010. The book is being accompanied by an exhibition opening at Institute 193 in Lexington, Kentucky on December 2. This will be the first book published about Mendes’ work in over 20 years.

Nones Preview from Institute 193 on Vimeo.

Silencio

9.11

Institute 193 and LOT will be publishing a book entitled Charlie’s Photo Album that will feature selections from the vast collection of photos that Williams took during his life. A large portion of this material is kept by the Kentucky Folk Art Center. Stay tuned. The show is scheduled to open on October 7, 2010.