Ejecta Projects presents SCATTER TERRAIN
Curated by Anthony Cervino and Shannon Egan
FEATURING ARTISTS:
Avye Alexandres, Chad Andrews, Sarah Aziz, Jackie Brown, Stefani Byrd, Zoë Charlton,
Locus Xiaotong Chen, Sarah Crofts, Jason Cytaki, Jon Duff, Jason Ferguson, Els Geelen,
Stephen Grossman, Stacy Isenbarger, Leekyung Kang, Heather Leier, Julia Matejcek, Ryan Sarah Murphy, Sarah Nance, Ken Reker, Dan Rule, Samantha Sanders, Stephanie Serpick, Casey Jex Smith, Chloe Wilwerding
EXHIBITION DESCRIPTION:
The term “scatter terrain,” borrowed from role playing and war games, refers to miniature fragments of architecture, natural features, or small props that provide a visual aid for players. Often conspicuously disjointed against an otherwise unadorned tabletop, these detailed, three-dimensional objects serve as cues to better envision larger, shared narrative of the game. During our recent Covid-induced seclusion, the idea of scatter terrain offered an appropriate metaphor for imagined adventure when real travel was prohibited, especially against a backdrop that sometimes felt featureless, repetitive, or isolating. This exhibition presents pockets of “terrain” – peculiar landscapes, architectural gestures, intimate domestic corners – as a metaphorical means of escape from the pandemic and connection to those who are faraway.
This selection of artists at first reflects a collective and sometimes oblique response to the pandemic. Several art objects were created when most of us were still sheltering at home, and these artists articulated their anxieties and awareness of their limited domestic spaces through their works. Now, as many of us are still struggling to redefine a “normal” world, the works shown here may be seen in relation to other fractures and traumas in our environment. For instance, the invented landscapes and abstracted spaces echo our concerns about the ongoing climate crisis. Because some of the artists depict terrains that defiantly resist conventional illustrations of sublime, pristine nature, the works might be seen as fantastical dystopias. Other artists tackle issues of personal and political identity to question the notion of belonging, within a persistent, and perhaps increasingly hostile world. What started as a call for disparate glimpses into distant lives and locations is now shifting toward a realization that our communal sense of place is still marked by a reckoning with an ailing world and an urgent need for new perspectives.
EXHIBITION SPECIFICATIONS:
Number of objects: 25 works by national and international artists, including painting, drawing, sculpture, video, prints, photography, and collage
Requirements: Moderate security, approximately 100 linear feet, 500-800 sq. ft. (flexible)
Expenses: Participation fees are $2000 per booking period, plus shipping. If additional venues are booked, participants will be responsible for shipping costs to next venue only.
Insurance and installation to be covered by venue.
Exhibition Catalogue: Electronic files for exhibit signage and pdf of 40-page full-color exhibition catalogue with curatorial essay will be provided in digital format. 50 copies of catalogue will be provided. If interested, venue will be responsible for printing additional copies of the catalogue.
Venue will provide pedestals and projectors/monitors with sound for videos.
Booking Period: 4 weeks (minimum) – 16 weeks (maximum)
Itinerary:
Ejecta Projects, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, April 9 – July 3, 2021
John and June Alcott Gallery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, August 24 – September 23, 2021
Availability: November 2021 – December 2023
Curators available for lectures and student critiques; venues are responsible for honoraria, travel, and accommodation (negotiable)
Contact: Anthony Cervino and Shannon Egan: ejectaprojects@gmail.com
A pdf of the catalogue and an illustrated object checklist are available here: https://www.ejectaprojects.com/scatter-terrain–traveling-exhibition-prospectus
ABOUT EJECTA PROJECTS:
Artist Anthony Cervino and art historian Shannon Egan curate contemporary exhibitions collaboratively under the moniker Ejecta Projects. Their curatorial work is realized in a space located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, also called Ejecta Projects, that is an art gallery, an artist’s studio, and an opportunity to engage with community.
Anthony Cervino is an artist-educator who has exhibited his work professionally for over 20 years. He is Professor of Art at Dickinson College, where he has taught sculpture since 2006. A native of Pennsylvania, Cervino studied art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Towson University before settling in Carlisle, PA. His sculptures have been included in recent exhibitions at The Gallery at Flashpoint in Washington, DC, the Institute of Contemporary Art at the Maine College of Art, the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, The Arlington Arts Center, the Minneapolis College Of Art & Design, and the Susquehanna Museum of Art, among others.
Shannon Egan received her BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her MA and PhD in the History of Art from Johns Hopkins University. She currently is Director of the Schmucker Art Gallery at Gettysburg College, where she curates exhibitions of contemporary and historical art and teaches courses in art history. She is the author of articles on photographers Edward S. Curtis and Jeff Wall. With Marthe Tolnes Fjellestad, she is the co-editor and co-curator of the forthcoming book and traveling exhibition titled Across the West and Toward the North: Norwegian and American Landscape Photography.
(Image: Dan Rule, Magic Mountain (detail), 2020, animation, 10 minutes)
Categories: Traveling Exhibitions