Thursday, March 28, 2013

Don't miss this!

WILMER WILSON IV: THE FOREVER AFTERMATH

Curated by Laura Roulet
WED APR 3 – SUN JUN 30
FREE
Opening Reception: Thu April 18 / Free / 5-7pm
Curated by Laura Roulet

Seizing on a dynamic moment in D.C. performance art, the exhibition titled Wilmer Wilson IV: the FOREVER Aftermath culminates Wilmer Wilson IV’s performance art series Henry “Box” Brown: FOREVER, and provides through innovative programming a forum for other DC-area artists to explore the evolution of performance as an art form. The exhibit and forums focus on the aftermath of performance art. On display is a rotating selection of documentation and detritus from the Henry “Box” Brown: FOREVER performances, which were commissioned by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities as part of the spring 2012 5x5 temporary public art project.

Inspired by the historic figure Henry “Box” Brown, a 19th century slave from Richmond, Virginia, who mailed himself to freedom, Wilmer Wilson IV used his own body to examine what freedom means. Artisphere’s Artist in Residence Studio becomes a platform for a discursive, flexible exhibition, collapsing the working space of an artist’s studio and an exhibition gallery, and rethinking spectatorship.

Wilmer Wilson IV: the FOREVER Aftermath helps kick-off of the Rosslyn-wide SUPERNOVA, a performance art festival, June 6-9, curated by the Pink Line Project and commissioned by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District. Wilmer Wilson IV: the FOREVER Aftermath is made possible by the Rosslyn BID and supported in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities' DC Creates! Public Art program.

PERFORMANCE: AFTERMATH
Thu April 18, Thu May 16 and Sat June 8 / Free / Dome Theatre
Performance: Aftermath coincides with Wilson's residency and addresses the ongoing life of performance art. Local performance artists are invited to collaborate and present their practices in whatever inventive format they choose. During the weeks leading up to each forum, videos of the presenting artists’ work will be rotated on Artisphere’s Video Wall.