FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Once There Was, Once There Wasn’t: Fairy Tales Retold

September 14 – October 7

Reception: Friday, September 14, 2007, 5:30 – 7:30pm

Contact:
Jaquelin Loyd
Eight Modern
505 995 0231
info@eightmodern.net

eightmodern.net

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO—Eight Modern is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, Once There Was, Once There Wasn't: Fairy Tales Retold. This group exhibition features works of art inspired by fairy tales and legends.

With works by a number of artists, including Jessica Abel, Jim Dine, David Hockney, Peregrine Honig, Fay Ku, Elizabeth "Grandma" Layton, Adela Leibowitz, David Levinthal, Paula Rego, Kiki Smith, and Richard Tuttle the exhibition illuminates and challenges the traditional interpretations of fairy tales. Stories heard in childhood exert a powerful pull on the artists participating in Once There Was, who take on the powerful role of storyteller and the task of mythopoesis, of creating and renewing meaning.  Their modern reworkings of old tales draw upon familiar narratives and imagery for their cultural resonance and iconography.

David Hockney’s Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm isolates six imaginative scenes from classic tales.  The images are also featured with original text in the accompanying artist book. The influential British artist goes beyond literal illustration to construct memorable images of wit, imagination, and dramatic graphic style.

 The work of sculptor and printmaker Kiki Smith stands in contrast, proffering a raw and intensely personal empathy with the heroines of cautionary tales like Little Red Riding Hood. Her works are elegiac in tone and explore childhood disenchantments, loss of innocence, adolescent awakening, attraction and vulnerability.

Once There Was will also include Father Gander, a portfolio of six lithographs from young Kansas City artist Peregrine Honig. The prints pair subversively distorted fairy tale settings and characters with cheerfully mocking captions and titles.  Provocative, sexually-charged depictions of Cinderella, Snow White and others are drawn with a palette inspired by the illustrations in classic childrens’ books.

The late Elizabeth "Grandma" Layton brings an astonishing exuberance and fluidity to her contour drawings, whimsical and exaggerated self-portraits. Such is the case in her print "Cinderella," in which an aged Cinderella sits with sagging skin and well-worn feet, while her prince (whose crown is modeled on the Kansas City Royals' logo) watches a baseball game through a castle window.

Paintings by Adela Leibowitz create visceral spaces where little girls are depicted in ominous, suspenseful scenes.  The girls appear realistic in contrast to the stylized story book landscapes.  She uses monochromatic pallets to create dreamlike spaces while referencing classic story book illustration.  The work explores personal psychology by juxtaposing youthful curiosity and fear.

Jim Dine was instrumental in helping Pop Art gain critical acceptance and widespread popularity in the 1960s. He has long been fascinated by the story of Pinocchio, especially by the puppet’s genesis and Geppetto’s ability to bring an inanimate object to life. To Dine, Pinocchio is much greater than the sum of his ill-shapen parts.

Fay Ku uses various drawing techniques to create a style reminiscent of classical Asian printmaking.  A Taiwanese American, she draws on many elements of her personal and cultural history.  She incorporates cultural symbols with multi cultural children creating her own realities and fantastic visions.

Once There Was explores the power and possibility to be found in the uncanny, earthy, violent, beautiful and altogether magical world of fairy tales.

Once There Was, Once There Wasn't: Fairy Tales Retold will run from Friday, September 14, through Sunday, October 7. Eight Modern is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30am to 6:00pm, and 11am to 4pm on Sundays, at 231 Delgado Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501. For further information and image requests, contact Jaquelin Loyd or Margo Thoma via email at info@eightmodern.net or by phone at (505) 995-0231.