F.A.R. @ ASU presents 'Broken Landscape II'

F.A.R. (Future Arts Research) @ ASU presents artist Blane De St. Croix's monumentally miniature sculpture, "Broken Landscape II," April 1–23 at the Night Gallery at Tempe Marketplace. De St. Croix’s work has been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions, nationally and internationally.

Without commenting directly on historical boundary architecture such as the Berlin Wall, the Israeli Wall or the Great Wall of China, "Broken Landscape II" carefully reconstructs, at a highly reduced scale, the geology and social material surrounding a selected slice of the uncompleted wall on the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas. By situating itself in the space of the viewer and the mirror image of the viewer, the sculpture manages both to be suggestively benign as a representation and highly provocative by virtue of its implied content, and the conversations it spurs make it a persuasive object.

De St. Croix conducts extensive research on each project, through site visits, photographic documentation, interviews and satellite imagery. Employing a combination of natural and industrial materials, his interest lies in articulating humankind's desire to take command over the Earth, revealing distinct conflicts with ecology, politics and ourselves in large-scale installations.

De St. Croix also will be at the Night Gallery for a panel discussion, "Relations Between Art and Activism," April 17 at 4 p.m. Other panelists include: Martha Schwendener, New York-based writer and critic; Rita Gonzalez, assistant curator, Los Angeles County Museum of Contemporary Art; and Kate Bonansinga, director, Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at The University of Texas at El Paso. A wine reception follows the gallery discussion.

"Broken Landscape II" runs April 1-23, at the Night Gallery at Tempe Marketplace, 2000 E. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m., and is closed Monday. The installation, opening reception (April 1, 7-9 p.m.) and panel discussion are free and open to the public.

For more information about border-related events scheduled in the gallery during the exhibition, visit http://futureartsresearch.asu.edu. This project is presented by F.A.R. (Future Arts Research) @ ASU, and is generously supported by Bentley Calverley and the ASU Herberger Institute School of Art.

Cyndi Coon, cyndi.coon@gmail.com 
(480) 734-5178
ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts