Anthony Sonnenberg / Rodrigo Valenzuela
February 2013 | Gallery4Culture
Self
February 7 – March 1, 2013
Opening: First Thursday, Feb 7, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Gallery4Culture welcomes artists Anthony Sonnenberg and Rodrigo Valenzuela in a two-person exhibition that presents a series of collaborative videos exploring the elusive subject of self.
Ideas of the self are inevitably multi-layered and contradictory, with clarity elusive. In knowing (or attempting to know) the self, there is a constant negotiation between past and future; fantasy and reality; potential and limitations. That which feels authentically ‘me’ seems directly in conflict with how I am perceived by the people around me. But then, how am I perceived by the people around me? It seems that ever since humankind found the time to consider it, this question of self has plagued us.
In this quartet of thoughtfully interconnected videos – the product of an evolving dialogue between the two artists – Sonnenberg and Valenzuela walk us down a path that explores the inner struggle and outer peril of the journey toward self-consciousness.
While sharing the inquiry, they perform distinctly separate roles in creating the work. Anthony Sonnenberg, as sculptor, built the imposing crown he wears in Between Construction and the mounted mirror in Self. As the lone performer in the videos, Sonnenberg strikes an imposing and memorable figure. Rodrigo Valenzuela, skilled in photomedia, is director and videographer, the eye behind the camera orchestrating the imagery. The result is sublime: the performance is powerful, the imagery exquisite and the mystery palpable.
Join us on Tuesday, February 12 at 4:30 PM for an informal gallery talk by the artists.
About the Artist
Anthony Sonnenberg and Rodrigo Valenzuela are Seattle-based artists who began their collaborative projects during their MFA program at the University of Washington. Sonnenberg studied in the 3D4M program; while photomedia was Valenzuela’s focus; they both completed their studies in 2012.
Anthony Sonnenberg holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and was a 2012 Emerging Artist in Residence at the Pilchuck Glass School. His work, which ranges from multimedia sculpture and installation to performance, has been featured in the 2011 Texas Biennial and the Seattle Art Museum.
Rodrigo Valenzuela left his homeland (Chile) and a thriving studio practice in 2005 and moved to Boston where, as an undocumented worker, he entered the harsh world of day labor. The experience precipitated fundamental change in his art. Valenzuela turned to video and photography as a tool to capture and articulate images. His time-based pieces explore uncertainty; they are brief descriptions of the moment and action from which phenomena unfolds.