SUNDAY L.E.S. | Brian Bress, Ruby Sky Stiler & Sara Greenberger Rafferty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The gallery is pleased to announce the two-person exhibition of new photographs, collages, and set elements by Brian Bress and new sculptures by Ruby Sky Stiler – which is coupled with a project space installation by Sara Greenberger Rafferty.

In this unique pairing, Brian Bress and Ruby Sky Stiler employ the emblems of formal abstraction to evoke the uncanny illusions of depiction and representation inherent within popular culture. For Stiler, tricks of the commercial trade, such as distressing, draping, or barely-good-enough craftsmanship create an air of authenticity around colorful conglomerations of fabric and intriguing masses of transformed materials. While for Bress, the traditional tropes of film and television, such as reconfigured sets, rotating characters, and period props allow a surrealist sense of play, surprise, and discovery to engage the viewer in a string of improvisation, visual hoaxes, and non sequitur. Seen together, the works of the two artists offer a mischievous exploration of the psychology of visual perception.

In the project space, Sara Greenberger Rafferty borrows from the tradition of illusionists, escapologists, and stand-up comedians to create a peek onstage to an unresolved situation. Combining the visual language of post-minimalism with that of conceptual art, Rafferty's Prop for MTM and The Magician's Assistant invites free associations between the title's allusions to Mary Tyler Moore, who's character Mary Richards is regarded as one of the first television representations of a professional woman, and countless magician's assistants, which have historically been beautiful, glamorous, charming, sexy, persuasive, and funny without upstaging the magician.

Brian Bress (b. 1975, Norfolk, VA) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. He received a MFA from University of California, Los Angeles and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. He has had residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Drawing and the Vermont Studio Center. His work has been featured at the Zach Feuer Gallery, New York, NY and Angstrom Gallery, Culver City, CA; among others. He will be included in upcoming group exhibitions at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Contemporary. His work has been reviewed in Artforum, Los Angeles Times, and LA Weekly.

Sara Greenberger Rafferty (b. 1978, Chicago, IL) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received a MFA from Columbia University and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York; Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, OR; and Mary Boone Gallery, New York; among others. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, ArtUS, and LA Weekly. She is the co-editor, with Matt Keegan, of North Drive Press, an annual publication and cultural project.

Ruby Sky Stiler (b. 1979, Portland, ME) lives and works in New York City. She received a MFA from Yale University and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and received a residency from the Vermont Studio Center. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at Guild & Greyshkul, New York; Allston Skirt, Boston; and PS122, New York; among others. Additionally, she was included in North Drive Press #3, curated by Matt Keegan and Sara Greenberger Rafferty.

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		Brian Bress, Ruby Sky Stiler & Sara Greenberger Rafferty October 11 – November 4, 2007 Reception: Thursday, Oct. 11, 6-9 PM


		FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The gallery is pleased to announce the two-person exhibition of new photographs, collages, and set elements by Brian Bress and new sculptures by Ruby Sky Stiler – which is coupled with a project space installation by Sara Greenberger Rafferty. In this unique pairing, Brian Bress and Ruby Sky Stiler employ the emblems of formal abstraction to evoke the uncanny illusions of depiction and representation inherent within popular culture. For Stiler, tricks of the commercial trade, such as distressing, draping, or barely-good-enough craftsmanship create an air of authenticity around colorful conglomerations of fabric and intriguing masses of transformed materials. While for Bress, the traditional tropes of film and television, such as reconfigured sets, rotating characters, and period props allow a surrealist sense of play, surprise, and discovery to engage the viewer in a string of improvisation, visual hoaxes, and non sequitur. Seen together, the works of the two artists offer a mischievous exploration of the psychology of visual perception. In the project space, Sara Greenberger Rafferty borrows from the tradition of illusionists, escapologists, and stand-up comedians to create a peek onstage to an unresolved situation. Combining the visual language of post-minimalism with that of conceptual art, Rafferty's Prop for MTM and The Magician's Assistant invites free associations between the title's allusions to Mary Tyler Moore, who's character Mary Richards is regarded as one of the first television representations of a professional woman, and countless magician's assistants, which have historically been beautiful, glamorous, charming, sexy, persuasive, and funny without upstaging the magician. Brian Bress (b. 1975, Norfolk, VA) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. He received a MFA from University of California, Los Angeles and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. He has had residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Drawing and the Vermont Studio Center. His work has been featured at the Zach Feuer Gallery, New York, NY and Angstrom Gallery, Culver City, CA; among others. He will be included in upcoming group exhibitions at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Contemporary. His work has been reviewed in Artforum, Los Angeles Times, and LA Weekly. Sara Greenberger Rafferty (b. 1978, Chicago, IL) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She received a MFA from Columbia University and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York; Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, OR; and Mary Boone Gallery, New York; among others. Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, ArtUS, and LA Weekly. She is the co-editor, with Matt Keegan, of North Drive Press, an annual publication and cultural project. Ruby Sky Stiler (b. 1979, Portland, ME) lives and works in New York City. She received a MFA from Yale University and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and received a residency from the Vermont Studio Center. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at Guild & Greyshkul, New York; Allston Skirt, Boston; and PS122, New York; among others. Additionally, she was included in North Drive Press #3, curated by Matt Keegan and Sara Greenberger Rafferty.