J. Fiber in “Cloud Nine” Group show at Front Room

Check out this show! Opening this Friday, April 20th.
The Front Room Presents:

“Cloud Nine”

Curated by Larry Walczak

a group exhibition featuring visual interpretations of the concept of “ecstasy”

April 21st—May 13th, 2012
Reception Friday April 21st 7-9

Featuring:
Bruce Checefsky • Chris Jehly • Chris Clary • David Kramer • Gregory de la Haba • Jesse Lambert • Patricia Fabricant • Lorella Paleni • J. Fiber • Brent Ridge • Linda Ganjian • Fred Tomaselli • Cham Giobbi • Jeanne Tremel • Amy Hill

Cloud Nine finds its roots in the religious art of Sassetta and Bernini, the bold and emotional works of Gericault, Delacroix and Goya from the Romantic period, William Blake’s paintings and prints from “Heaven & Hell”, the “inner language” of Clyfford Still’s abstractions and the contemporary psychedelic & color field paintings of Philip Taffee, Bridget Riley and Tom Moody. This exhibition bears no connection to the much-publicized 2005 exhibition titled “Ecstasy: In and About Altered States” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, which focused on the drug “ecstasy” or its chemical name MDMA. Nor is it intended to reference tantric sex or elements of rave or techno culture.

In an age when feelings of ecstasy can be realized in a six hour “experience” (MDMA), the more common route to harmony and happiness comes from the prozac revolution. Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors such as Paxil, Lexapro, Zoloft and others effectively repress feelings of depression and anxiety. By anesthetizing their emotional pain and conflict, people today seem to have done away with the need for ecstatic experiences. However, it could be argued that in today’s strained global economy and potentially apocalyptic landscape, the ability to escape or transcend to ecstatic states may never have been more necessary.

The artworks in Cloud Nine are visual interpretations of the concept of ecstasy and generally fall into the three categories: religious (or spiritual), philosophical, and personal.

LINDA GANJIAN
AMY HILL
JESSE LAMBERT
BRUCE CHECEFSKY
FRED TOMASELLI
JEANNE TREMEL
In CHRIS JEHLY
LORELLA PALENI
BRENT RIDGE
CHRIS CLAREY
CHAM GIOBBI
DAVID KRAMER
PATRICIA FABRICANT
GREGORY DE LA HABA
J.FIBER

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