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MOCA GA WORKING ARTIST PROJECT WINNER, BRIAN DETTMER, TO PREMIER “ELEMENTAL” OCTOBER 20, 2012

ATLANTA – The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA) announces the opening of the third and final installment in the series of the 2011/2012 Working Artist Project exhibitions – Brian Dettmer: Elemental. There will be an opening reception for Dettmer’s exhibition on Friday, October 19, from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. There will be an Artist Talk by Dettmer on Thursday, November 29, at 7 p.m. with a reception beforehand at 6:30 p.m. The Artist Talk is free to the public. Brian Dettmer: Elemental runs October 20, 2012 – January 5, 2013.

ABOUT “Elemental” EXHIBITION
Referring to his medium and the work in his upcoming exhibition, artist Brian Dettmer, says “Material and history are being lost, slipping and eroding, from a tangible constant to an endless series of mutations. The richness and depth of older books is universally respected yet often undiscovered as users need a quicker, slicker bite of information. The book’s intended function has decreased. Its relevance is still vital but the content stays sedentary and the form remains linear in a non-linear world. We are left with raw material. In my upcoming show for MOCA GA, I continue to question the past, present and future of the book by exploring and expanding possibilities and perspectives of the book’s form and its content. In this show iconic forms and symbols from early childhood education are deconstructed and represented in new ways. Encyclopedia sets merge to form tall towers and pixilated patterns as the symbols and ideas from the past are broken down to basic elements. Long rows of paperbacks are compressed and sanded into solid wooden forms. Books on games reveal new matrices as a result of strategy and chance. A chart inspired by a thesaurus follows thousands of potential paths of meaning that spring from a single word. Images of state flags are dissected and reconstructed to present a new vocabulary about locality from existing symbols of authority.”

ABOUT BRIAN DETTMER
Brian Dettmer is originally from Chicago. He currently resides in Atlanta, GA. He is known for his detailed and innovative sculptures with books and other forms of analog media. Dettmer has had solo shows in New York, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, Atlanta and Barcelona. His work has been exhibited throughout North America and Europe at galleries and museums including the Museum of Arts and Design (NY), The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute (DC), the Museum of Contemporary Art (GA), The Chicago Cultural Center (IL), and Museum Rijswijk (Netherlands) among many others. His work has been featured on the CBS Evening News, The New York Times (US), The Los Angeles Times (US), The Guardian (UK), Chicago Tribune (US), Art News, Modern Painters, Wired, and National Public Radio among others. Earlier this year Dettmer had a solo show at the University of Maribor in Maribor, Slovenia as part of its celebration as the European Capital of Culture for 2012. Dettmer is represented by Saltworks Gallery in Atlanta. Photos can be requested by emailing MOCA GA at [email protected].

ABOUT THE WORKING ARTIST PROJECT
The Working Artist Project (WAP) is an award program that was developed by MOCA GA and is funded by a major grant from The Charles Loridans Foundation, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Project was designed to support established visual artists of merit who reside in the Atlanta metropolitan area. This initiative provides an unparalleled level of support for individual artists, expands MOCA GA’s mission, and promotes Atlanta as a city where artists can live, work and thrive. For each year of funding, MOCA GA selects three visual artists to receive the award. Among Atlanta’s best and brightest, these artists are supported with an exhibition, a promotion, a studio assistant and a major monetary stipend to facilitate their work over the course of the year.

ABOUT MOCA GA
The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA) collects and archives significant contemporary works by artists in the state of Georgia. To place its artists in a broader context, MOCA GA’s exhibitions also include artists from around the world. MOCA GA’s programs promote the visual arts by creating a forum for active interchange between artists and the community. MOCA GA is located at 75 Bennett Street in the TULA Art Center. Admission is free to members and US military w/ID, $5 for non-members and $1 for students. The First Thursday of every month, admission to MOCA GA is free. For more information, please call 404-367-8700, visit www.mocaga.org or email [email protected]. Hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday.

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