Press Release:
Beyond the Age of Reason
Curated by Debby and Larry Kline
San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park Presents
Beyond the Age of Reason
Dates: September 1–October 31, 2018
Open Tuesday-Thursday-Friday 10am-5pm
Wednesday 10am-8pm
Saturday-Sunday 12pm-5pm
Member Reception: Saturday, September 15 from 5pm-6pm
Public Reception: Saturday, September 15 from 6pm-8pm
SDAI, San Diego’s only contemporary art center dedicated to artists from Southern California and Northern Baja, presents Beyond the Age of Reason curated by Debby and Larry Kline and featuring 20 different artists exploring connections between religion and art.
Featured Artists:
Eleanor Antin, Wayne Martin Belger, Adam Belt, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Einar de la Torre, Jamex de la Torre, Stephen Douglas, Steve Eilenberg, Scott Froschauer, Dave Ghilarducci, Cole Goodwin, Ichiro Irie, Beliz Iristay, Paula Levine, Maria Munroe, Cheryl Nickel, Sean Noyce, Ruben Ochoa, Erika Rothenberg, and Kristine Schomaker.
Beyond the Age of Reason brings together a diversity of artists who contemplate how faith meshes with contemporary life, the role of ritual and symbolism, and the metamorphosis of traditional symbols as they become immersed in popular culture. Using materials and principles of design that place them firmly in the world of contemporary art, this show incorporates both traditional media and modern technologies.
As SDAI guest curators, Debby and Larry Kline selected works and designed an exhibition that offers visitors the chance to explore the visual and cultural influence of religion on art. They discuss more details of the show and their process below:
Beyond the Age of Reason Reflects the Past, Present, and Future
Throughout history, artists and their images have played an integral part in shaping religion while religious leaders have found power in pictures; often commissioning artists to create works to validate or nullify beliefs. Beyond the Age of Reason acknowledges these historical underpinnings of faith-based iconography as the exhibition’s individual artists put this iconography through its full range of plastic possibilities.
The exhibition is all about faith, and how it meshes with popular culture. Most often, faith has to do with things beyond reason. All of the artists in the show are dealing with some issue of spirituality: whether making a statement, raising a question, evidencing a struggle. They’re often dealing with the difference between myth and truth, the romantic world verses the observable world. Some of the artists may not adhere to the faith they were raised in, but they continue to use the religious iconography that’s familiar to them. The iconography remains part
of who they are, regardless of their current belief system.
SDAI’s Inclusive Mission Makes it an Ideal Venue
Few arts institutions in San Diego support contemporary artists working in the county, and those that do have a fairly narrow focus on the region, ignoring the interconnections between San Diego artists and those of neighboring cities. Its inclusive mission, highlighted by innovative exhibitions that feature San Diego artists alongside artists from Los Angeles, Tijuana and beyond, make SDAI the ideal venue for artists and curators. This cross-regional approach is important because it provides context for San Diego artists, encourages relationships within the broader community and raises the bar for the quality of exhibitions. We also love SDAI’s experimental nature, allowing artists to push beyond their comfort zones, and encouraging and reflecting the dynamic quality of artwork being produced here; which previously had no outlet.
A Show with 40 to 50 Works of Art by 20 Different Artists
There are 40 to 50 different works of art in the show, and they range from two historic Michelangelo sculptures to a Zoot Suit made with blown glass. Some of the work is interactive, hi-tech, absolutely beautiful, ironic, filled with social commentary, and maybe enigmatic. One group of photographs by Wayne Martin Belger – who also makes his own cameras – weighs in at more than 100 pounds each and is prominently featured in the current issue of Smithsonian magazine. Eleanor Antin was part of many one-woman exhibitions include the Museum of
Modern Art, the Whitney Museum and a major retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
About the Curators
Debby and Larry Kline are collaborative artists, whose works have been featured in many solo exhibitions, including Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (San Francisco), California Center for the Arts Museum, La Casa del Tunel Art Center (Tijuana), Southwestern College Art Gallery, UCSD Cross Cultural Center Gallery, Mesa College Art Gallery and Athenaeum Music and Arts Library. Group exhibitions include Indiana State Museum, San Diego Art institute, Oceanside
Museum of Art, Torrance Art Museum, MCASD and Museum on the Seam (Israel), which involved traveling to Jerusalem and creating a one ton adobe structure on the roof of the museum as part of an exhibition of international environmental artists. The Klines are interested in the intersection of the arts with various disciplines and have lectured at venues as diverse as the Art and Science Forum at the Salk Institute, UserX Symposium (for members of Qualcomm’s design team) and San Diego Museum of Art’s Friday Morning Lecture Series.
About SDAI
Since beginning in 1941, SDAI has grown into a premier contemporary art center, delivering access to thousands of residents and visitors, no matter the viewer’s art experience or demographic. Through high quality, interactive programming, educational initiatives, and exhibitions, SDAI promotes cultural equity and artistic enrichment within our community. We enable diverse audiences to interact with art in meaningful ways.
For more information about Beyond the Age of Reason and the San Diego Art Institute, please contact Jessica Ballenger at jballenger@sandiego-art.org /1-619-717-7342.