“THE PAST AS FUTURE IS PRESENT - CONVERSATIONS THROUGH TIME”
VC Projects and International Artist, Shane Guffogg in Collaboration with Vramyan Interiors
An installation of paintings, mixed media, and antiquity
Opening Reception, Friday, September 9th, from 5 to 9 pm
Exhibition dates: September 9 - October 8, 2022
Closing Event: Saturday, October 8th from 2 to 6 pm
1028 N. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029
OPENING RECEPTION - FOCUS ON MINIMALISM
Pianist, Anthony Cardella performs on Friday, September 9th from 6:30 - 8 pm with works by John Cage, Timos Andres, Marc Dancingers, and Philip Glass
Music Program for Friday, September 9, 2022
“Quest” – 1 minute 10 sec. | John Cage (1912-1992)
“In a Landscape” 10 mins. | John Cage (1912-1992)
“How Can I Live in Your World of Ideas?” 8 mins. | Timos Andres (1985)
“Etude 20” 11 mins. | Philip Glass (1937)
“The Bright Motion” 12 mins.| Mark Dancigers (1981)
“No. 1” and “No. 2” 10 mins. 30 sec. | John Cage (1912-1992)
“Mad Rush” 14 mins. | Philip Glass (1937)
“Ophelia” 7 mins. | John Cage (1912-1992)
“Etude 5” 9 mins. | Philip Glass (1937)
CLOSING EVENT:
On Saturday, October 8th, from 2 - 6 pm, for our closing event featuring KARNEJ -vaguebondz," sound installation within the "The Past as Future is Present - Conversations Through Time" exhibition.
KARNEJ - "vaguebondz" – site-specific sound installation
Mimicking the curatorial methods used in the exhibition, KARNEJ collects sounds from tangentially related sources (bat echolocation ultrasonic recordings, TS Eliot's reading of the Four Quartets on vinyl, vocal recordings in dripping caves) and processes them in order to conjure a dank monastic aura within the space. The 5hr sound art piece aspires to establish a sort of druid-like meditative state by using indeterminacy as a sequencing and programming tool. This allows the possibility of constant sonic variation with a limited set of source materials. The result is a haunted and dark-hued interpretation of the tribulations of faith and doubt by way of TS Eliot's final opus.
EL NIDO IN COLLABORATION WITH SHANE GUFFOGG, AND VRAMYAN INTERIORS CREATE AN ART INSTALLATION
“The Past as Future is Present – Conversations Through Time” in collaboration with Shane Guffogg, Alex Vramyan, Lucasz Jiannowski of Vramyan Interiors and VC Projects, will curate two rooms located at El Nido Art Space, Los Angeles. The group worked together to create a collection of contemporary art themes amongst historical works of antiquity. This setting is a provocative art installation questioning the ephemeral nature of time while creating an enigma infused by the objects, furniture, paintings old and new, for the observer to complete.
In one of the rooms, Vramyan Interiors resurrects a modern interpretation of a traditional altar, but instead of the traditional devotee being displayed at the center, Alex Vramyan placed Guffogg’s large scale Sapere Aude #7 painting that is coded with Augmented Reality, creating a 4th dimension that can be viewed through a smart phone or pad. The idea was to remove the obvious, creating a new god-head. By simply viewing the painting on ADLAR’s app it moves to the tempo of the artist’s exhalation in tandem with Erik Satie’s “Gymnoédie 3” (1888), recorded by pianist Anthony Cardella. The painting’s title references the Latin phrase ‘dare to know’, first published in The Book of Letters (20 BC) by the Roman poet Horace, and later a phrase associated with The Age of Enlightenment, and Immanuel Kant’s essay, “Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment? (1784), followed by Michel Foucault’s essay “What is Enlightenment (1984). Guffogg created his painting in 2017-18, AR was added in 2021. Guffogg weighs into the conversation adding; “Amid the age of disinformation and the weaponization of social media, I started thinking about the word Truth. Is it a concept? Is it tangible? Is it objective or subjective? All relevant questions that are worth asking, because if they are not asked then we are destined to repeat the worst parts of our history – stuck in a loop of recurring wars, famines, plagues, overpopulation, etc.”
The second room presents a different enigma, which is a bit of an apocalypse in the making. The observer steps into disarray of the past, piles of books on the floor, and a partial salon wall of 17th century paintings. In the middle of the room is a grouping of Grand Tour Bronzes, one after Michelangelo, another, “Mercury” by Giambologna sitting on an early 20th century Italian Neoclassical Inlaid Marquetry table, which all represent the past. Amongst this disarray is Guffogg’s repertoire of post-post-modernist paintings and a Carrara marble sculpture. The past informs the future and the observer in the room completes the experience in the present tense, punctuated with a 19th century French Regency Style Mirror with Heavy Spotting. Vramyan Interiors brings a fresh and insightful view combining antiquity amongst Guffogg’s paintings and sculptures influenced by ancient civilizations, human existence, and contemporary literature.
To add to the atmosphere on opening night, El Nido worked with pianist, Anthony Cardella to curate a program of Minimalist works for an atmospheric sound scape, that will include, “In a Landscape” by John Cage, Timo Andres’ “How Can I Live in Your World of Ideas” and John Adam’s “The Bright Motion Movement 1.”
Together Chapman and Guffogg have formed a unique installation with Vramyan Interiors to create new narratives that bring forth a balance of philosophical lyricism and modern art theory. Guffogg, who has penned himself as a post-post-modernist painter and sculptor, will share oil paintings from his 40-year career and Murano glass and Carrara marble sculptures to be exhibited with a myriad of poetic functional and non-functional objects. The visual illuminations will provide unique modes of engagement that serves as a portal to contemplate art through the ages, as well as highlighting beautiful shapes and lines ranging from the 17th century until the present, creating a bridge between the past and present.
INSTALLATION VIEW
FEATURED ARTWORK
Late 17th century Italian Painted Octagonal Marble Panel Depicting Madonna After Carlo Dolci, Courtesy of Vramyan Interiors
Shane Guffogg, 2001, Crossings #163, watercolor on paper, 30 x 22 inches, framed
19th Century French Regency Style Carved with Heavy Spotting and Lifting to Silver, Courtesy of Vramyan Interiors
Shane Guffogg, 2018, “Sapere Aude #7”, oil on canvas, 84 x 60 inches, viewing this painting via the ADLAR APP will provide a different perspective
MAINTAINING A BALANCE: CONTEMPORARY ART AND ANTIQUITY
EL NIDO by VC Projects opened in 2021. VC Projects was founded in 2014 by Victoria Chapman, who is a British-born independent curator based in Los Angeles. Chapman has spent the past 25 years working in museums, art galleries, and art institutions in Europe and the United States of America. El Nido, serves as an art space and refuge for creative endeavors and exploratory pursuits, which may consist of art exhibitions, performances, independent film viewings, and contemporary classical and avant-garde music programs.
Shane Guffogg is an American artist that looks through the lens of humanity at civilizations both past and present and views time as a thread that connects all people. His work is a visual language that is informed by the spiritualism of abstraction and the realism of the old masters. These two ideas are usually seen as separate but Guffogg fuses them seamlessly into works that transcend and become testaments to thoughts that inform us who we are in the 21st century. His artwork consists of oil paintings, mixed-media works on paper, pastels, and Murano glass sculptures. Guffogg’s artwork can be found in numerous private and public collections and museums in Europe and the USA. Some notably the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, New York, Fundación/Colección Jumex, Mexico City, The Imperial Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Russia, The Gallery at the Museum Center, Baku, Azerbaijan, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, University of Pennsylvania, Frederick R. Wiseman Art Foundation, Los Angeles.
Los Angeles based Vramyan interiors is founded by Alex Vramyan and Lucasz Jiannowski. The partnership between them consists of a long history of expertise in antiquity and fine furniture. Their varied art practice consists of art restoration, refinishing, restyling, free-hand painting: including furniture, panels, and customized wall-covering. Additionally, they specialize in a combined classic interior design. Alex Vramyan is a lecturer of fine antiquities, art history, and furniture design. Early 2022, the duo launched a unisex fragrance line and a unique limited series of wall-coverings is on its way. VC Projects met Alex Vramyan through a friend at El Nido, a desire to collaborate with an antiquity specialist has always been on the horizon, this seemed like a perfect fit as a request formulated and all players agreed to combine forces!
“The co-existence of works creates new narratives that bring forth a balance of philosophical lyricism and modern art theory.”
Grand Tour Style Signed Patinated Bronze Arm After Michelangelo on marble, Courtesy fo Vramyan Interiors
Shane Guffogg, 1997, “Nothing in the Beginning was more Dramatic than it’s End” oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches
Late 17th Century German Baroque, oil on wood painting of Thirteenth Station Courtesy of Vramyan Interiors
Shane Guffogg, 1988, Back to Front, acrylic and oil on muslin, 28 x 24 inches
OPENING RECEPTION - Pianist, Anthony Cardella performs on Friday, September 9th from 6:30 - 8 pm adding to the atmosphere
Anthony Cardella performing Samuel Barber’s Piano Concerto with Lawrence Symphony Orchestra winning first place in the LSO Concerto Competition
Anthony Cardella is a dynamic and compelling, active performer who has performed in esteemed concert halls across the United States and Europe, and has won regional and national performance competitions in the United States. A Wisconsin native, Anthony moved to Los Angeles three years ago after completing his undergraduate studies at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music and has been performing, teaching, and collaborating in the Los Angeles area while pursuing further studies at the Thornton School of Music. Anthony is an award-winning performer who has been praised for his virtuosity, exceptionally delicate touch, and colorful playing that connects with his audiences on an emotional level. Anthony is known for assembling programs that showcase the full extent of his technical abilities and vulnerability at the piano in tandem, while actively seeking out music written by living composers to program and showcase in addition to standard Classical repertoire.
Anthony holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Lawrence University and Conservatory of Music with honors, a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, and is a Doctoral candidate at USC, teaching at the collegiate level while also doing research in musicology and pedagogy.
“John Cage....prodded us to reevaluate how we define not only music but the entire experience of encountering art.”
CLOSING EVENT FEATURE ON Saturday, October 8th from 2 - 6 pm
KARNEJ joins the closing event for a sound installation, interpreting the space … the past as future is present - conversations through time
KARNEJ - "vaguebondz" – site-specific sound installation
Mimicking the curatorial methods used in the exhibition, KARNEJ collects sounds from tangentially related sources (bat echolocation ultrasonic recordings, TS Eliot's reading of the Four Quartets on vinyl, vocal recordings in dripping caves) and processes them in order to conjure a dank monastic aura within the space. The 5hr sound art piece aspires to establish a sort of druid-like meditative state by using indeterminacy as a sequencing and programming tool. This allows the possibility of constant sonic variation with a limited set of the source materials. The result is a haunted and dark-hued interpretation of the tribulations of faith and doubt by way of TS Eliot's final opus.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST WITH SHANE GUFFOGG AND VC PROJECTS “CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ART”
HEAR FIRSTHAND HOW THE ART INSTALLATION CAME ABOUT
In this episode, we talk to International artist Shane Guffogg about making "The Past as Future is Present - Conversations Through Time" art installation (September 2022) in collaboration with VC Projects and Vramyan Interiors. This informal behind-the-scenes talk between the artist and curator shares unique moments about the installation process. As both work together to incorporate unique strategies to make for an empowering exhibition based on chance operations that feature paintings, objects, and antiquity.