Weston Art Gallery

Jimmy Baker (Cincinnati, OH) and Nathan Tersteeg (Richmond, VA) reunite as Dungeon Thud with Hairrier: The Hovering Drone in an ambitious installation that combines sound, video and performance staged on an abstracted Harrier Jet complete with spewing artificial hair. Taking full advantage of the public exposure of the street-level exhibition space, this collaborative installation seeks to synthesize the relationship of psychedelic rock to its symbiotic association with war and aggression. A live performance by Dungeon Thud was featured on opening night.

Jimmy Baker is a multimedia artist living and working in Cincinnati. He attended the Columbus College of Art and Design where he earned a bachelor of fine arts in 2002. During his time in Columbus he actively participated in a local artist collective that encompassed political activism and touring in a band. These pursuits fueled his graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati where he earned a master of fine arts in 2004. He has been a participant and curator with the Cincinnati-based artist alternative exhibition space Publico and has collaborated with fellow artist Nathan Tersteeg as Dungeon Thud on installations that incorporate improvisational music performances. He has participated in numerous exhibitions at Cincinnati area venues including Publico, The Artery and Phyllis Weston / Annie Bolling Gallery; and national venues that include Foxy Production Gallery (New York, NY); Roberts and Tilton Gallery (Los Angeles, CA); and Black Floor Gallery (Philadelphia, PA). He currently serves as an adjunct professor at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Dungeon Thud, installation view of Hairrier, 2008

Nathan Tersteeg is a musician and visual artist working in painting and printmaking exploring themes related to consumerism. He earned a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1999 and a master of fine arts in printmaking from the University of Cincinnati in 2004. As a musician he has participated in a number of bands in Richmond, VA, where he formerly lived, including Red Canasta and Fissure Folk. He has exhibited his artwork at ADA Gallery (Richmond, VA), Publico (Cincinnati, OH) and The Artery (Newport, KY).

Tues., Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.

Education Workshop: Sat., Jan. 26 at 10 a.m.

The Hovering Drone is generously sponsored by Susan and Bill Friedlander and Sara M. and Michelle Vance Waddell.

Dungeon Thud, installation view of Hairrier, 2008

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A Chicago-based artist and photographer, Nate Larson's photographic work uses visual and textual narrative to explore the way in which we construct meaning in contemporary culture through the lenses of religion, consumer behavior, and secular mythologies. His stories weave tales of ordinary days that have gone peculiar, obsessive methods of analysis, and insignificant objects that suddenly take on extraordinary significance. Miracle Pennies and Other Stories continues this exploration with Larson's darkly humorous storytelling dissecting the line between belief and skepticism, while examining the relationship of photography to both objective and subjective truth.

Nate Larson's photographic work has been widely exhibited across the United States and featured internationally in exhibitions in Canada, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom. His work has been written about in numerous publications including the New York Times. Larson's photographs and artist books are included in the collections of the Center for Photography at Woodstock, the Banff Centre in Alberta, the Midwest Photographers Project Collection at the Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago, and McHenry County College, among others. His artwork has received grant support from the Ultimate Eye Foundation (San Francisco, CA); Visual Studies Workshop (Rochester, NY); the Banff Centre (Alberta, Canada); the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; and the Illinois Arts Council. Larson earned a bachelor of arts from Purdue University and a master of fine arts from Ohio State University. He holds a tenured teaching appointment at Elgin Community College in Illinois.

Nate Larson, "Another Nate Larson," 2005, pigment print, 12" x 26"

Nate Larson, "Miracle Pennies, (5) Oil," 2006, pigment print, 15" x 23.5"

Sat., Jan. 26 at 2 p.m.

Miracle Pennies and Other Stories is generously sponsored by Dee and Tom Stegman

Nate Larson, installation view, 2008

Nate Larson, "Fortune Cookie," 2005, pigment print, 12" x 26"

Nate Larson, installation view, 2008

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Through a variety of media that includes painting, video, photography and artist books, Mark Harris, director of the School of Art at the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning, explores imagery of intoxication as a form of utopian representation. Harris's work imagines intoxication functioning as an alternative to the aggressively incursive strategies of the historical avant-garde.

Utopian-Bands and Related Works represents the culmination of work following a trip Harris took in the summer of 2006 when he traveled to Beijing to document six Chinese rock bands in an outdoor concert he co-organized with Beijing alternative music promoter Yang Licai. Harris's filming captures a glimpse of the cultural changes sweeping through China and celebrates Beijing rock bands as the return of the repressed—microcosmic utopian communities once stifled by a Chinese Communism focused on national social reorganization. The video debut of Utopian-Bands is accompanied by a series of paper cutouts and photographs informed by Harris's experiences in China.

Mark Harris is an artist, critic, and curator living in Cincinnati, OH. His diverse approaches to making artwork include painting, installation, video, and photography. Harris's recent solo and collaborative exhibitions include Streets of London, a video installation with Peter Lloyd Lewis at 1 000 000mph, London (2003); the Trans Hudson Gallery, New York (2001); the Economist Building, London, with Carmel Buckley (1999); and Wall of Sound, with Jem Finer, at the Trans Hudson Gallery, Jersey City (1996). In addition, his work has appeared in exhibitions in London, Munich, Peterborough (Canada), New Zealand, and Vienna. He holds a doctorate in philosophy from Goldsmiths College, University of London (2005). Among his many publications are articles in Miser & Now, NY Arts, ARTicle Press, and MAKE Magazine, as well as articles and reviews in Art Monthly.

Mark Harris, Utopian-Bands, installation view of east gallery 2

Mark Harris, "Hang on the Box," 2008, paper cutout, acrylic on paper, 9" x 10"

Tues., Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.

Education Workshop: Sat., Feb., 16 at 10 a.m.

Utopian-Bands and Related Works is generously co-sponsored by The Kaplan Foundation with additional support from Andrew Stillpass.

Mark Harris, signage wall

Mark Harris, "video still of Fantastic Pharmacy (Meihaoyaodian)," 2006 (detail)

Mark Harris, "Utopian-Bands listening stations"

Mark Harris, installation view of Utopian-Bands DVD (Hang on the Box, detail), 2008

Mark Harris, "vitrine of vintage paper cutouts (detail 2)

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