Those seeking visual pleasure that arises from intellectual interest will not be disappointed by a trip to the Kala Institute for its current offering: Residency Projects IV--an exhibition featuring work by 2007 Kala Fellows Adriane Colburn, Taraneh Hemami, and Leslie Shows. The fellowship provides six months of access to its extensive digital and traditional printmaking facilities along with a cash prize and an exhibition of the work produced during the residency. While that may sound like parameters for rather arbitrary groupings this exhibition is surprisingly coherent. And the bond goes beyond aesthetics. Despite the three's distinct practices and approaches to... Read More

PREAMBLE Wherein a consideration of art objects in general leads to a belated review of the recent exhibition Casual Labor. Zachary Royer Scholz, Situation 91206 (dirt, cushion) 2008. Giclee print, 31 1/2in. x 23 1/2in. The art object--in the art world--has been a rather sheepish presence ever since the "dematerialized," conceptual practices of the mid to late sixties and early seventies were adopted by alternative spaces, canonized by academics, and finally, officially sanctioned by museums. The adaptation of literary theory, with its emphasis on language, for art criticism and art education has only further problematized the role of objects in... Read More