DIRTIER WORDS — BALTIMORE
February 20, through March 26, 2016
Robert Attanasio, Marta Buda, Karen Mainenti, Joe Nanashe, Michael Scoggins, Allison Wade
(Baltimore, MD) — Guest Spot @ THE REINSTITUTE, is please to present Dirtier Words — Baltimore a group exhibition featuring the works of Robert Attanasio, Marta Buda, Karen Mainenti, Joe Nanashe, Michael Scoggins, and Allison Wade. Dirtier Words — Baltimore is a remix of VICTORI+MO and Catinca Tabacaru Gallery's exhibition, Dirty Words. The exhibition will open on Saturday, February 20, 2016 and will be on view through Saturday March 26, 2016. The Opening Reception will take place on Saturday, February 20, 2016 from 7pm-10pm. The exhibit Dirtier Words — Baltimore is dedicated to the remembrance of Robert Attanasio.
“This exhibition explores the aggression and sexuality ingrained in modern vernacular and inherent within American culture. We are repeatedly confronted by double entendres, and have become increasingly reliant on context and source in order to absorb true meaning. This content, often fraught with messages of fear, submission, superiority or surrender, hold various truths depending on their intention and ultimately fall on the perceptions — or lack thereof — of the audience.” — Press release Dirty Words, VICTORI+MO CONTEMPORARY
Dirtier Words — Baltimore is emblematic of a wild and adventurous strain associated with the taboo of common parlance. The re-exhibition embodies the attempt to marry theory, politics, sexuality, pleasure, experimentation, and humor. The works debunk all humanist mythology about the grandeur of proper etiquette. The relational examination of text and non-text based vulgarity in Art History and Pop Cultureis the central focus of the collection of works. Linguistically speaking, the eccentric, dialectical style reinforces an ironic sensibility, combined with inquiry that is provocative, humorous, and intellectually exhilarating...just like common profanity. FUCK.
Robert Attanasio (1952- 2015), Artist and Filmmaker, is represented by Jim Kemper Fine Art, New York, NY. He has exhibited among many renowned artists in cultural institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY and the Museum of Modern Art, NY. Attanasio’s films have been included in International Audio-Visual Experimental Festival, Arnhem,The Netherlands and the London International Film Festival, UK, and Anthology Film Archives, New York, NY to name just a few.
“Robert Attanasio's works vary radically from each other, proceeding as they do not from a camera or an editing technique but from fresh germinal 'recipes' he dreams up. His 'signature' rises from the diversity not as a look...but a unique style of thinking. Often one senses a bemused 'what would happen if' mischievousness at the idiosyncratic heart of his creations. He does truly unexpected things with the most transparent of subject matters, making for delicious mystifications". - Ken Jacobs
Marta Buda has shown in group shows in New York City and Hoboken. She was the recipient of the Giza Daniels Endesha Award for Outstanding Performance in Visual Arts in 2014, and has had her work displayed at The House of Representatives in Washington D.C. after winning the District 7 Congressional Arts Competition in 2009. Marta Buda started her education at Parsons The New School for Design, and continued her studies at Mason Gross School of Visual Arts, where she completed her BFA. Marta Buda lives and works in the New York Metropolitan Area.
Karen Mainenti is a visual artist working in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Her work has been exhibited, most recently, at the Cornell Museum of Art in Delray Beach, Florida, and Trestle Gallery in Brooklyn. Last year, her drawings were awarded a Certificate of Recognition in the juried show “Recycle” at the Brooklyn Artists Waterfront Coalition by Elissa Goldstone, Director of Exhibitions at Socrates Sculpture Park. In 2014, her outdoor street art installation, Dumbo Underfoot, was exhibited at the DUMBO Arts Festival in Brooklyn, and she had a solo show at Chashama's pop-up gallery in the Garment District. Ms. Mainenti attended the School of Visual Arts Summer Residency Program in Painting & Mixed Media, and was a visiting artist at the Tulsa Girls Art School in Tulsa, OK.
Joe Nanashe studied sculpture at the University of Akron. In 2002, he received a scholarship from Sarah Lawrence to study performance art at the Kitchen Summer Institute. He received his BFA and Outstanding Senior Award from the University of Akron in 2003 and an MFA and the Paul Robeson Emerging Artist Award from Rutgers University in 2005. His work has shown in multiple editions of the New York, Chicago and Lausanne Underground Film Festivals. His video, Internet Alphabet, received an Audience Choice Award at the 2008 Boston Underground Film Festival. He has exhibited internationally in Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, Canada, and Argentina.
Michael Scoggins gained an MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2006 and has attended various prestigious residencies including the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the MacDowell Colony, and Fountainhead. Michael has gained international recognition and gallery representation in Atlanta, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Vienna and Seoul. His works have been added to some notable collections including, but not limited to, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Michael has had works exhibited in over twenty solo shows, fifty curated group exhibitions, and written about in countless publications.
Much of Allison Wade’s work deals with relationships and problems inherent in contemporary modes of communication. Her paintings and photographs show text messages that have ended the artist's own relationships, whether sent by her or to her. These texts featured in Wade's work are an exposition of one- way communication and social distance. It is easier in our postmodern world to leave a voice mail and nowa text message then talk face to face to other people. These new tools in communication put the sender even further away from the recipient. Allison lives and works in New York City and is a Professor of Photography at The Fashion Institute of Technology. She received her MFA from Cornell University and her MA from The University of New Mexico. Allison is represented by Rick Wester Fine Art.
