< Past Exhibitions
January 2013
January 2013
MIE OLISE KJÆRGAARD: Crystal Bites of Dust
January 11 - March 9, 2013
January 11 - March 9, 2013
For images of the exhibition, please scroll down.
Barbara Davis Gallery is proud to announce a solo-exhibition by Danish artist Mie Olise Kjærgaard entitled Crystal Bites of Dust, opening Friday, January 11, 2013, with an artist reception from 6:30 – 8:30pm.
For this exhibition, Danish artist Mie Olise Kjærgaard unveils her exploration of the Gowanus Canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn through a series of new paintings that investigate the impact of industrialism on the surrounding area. Laden with desolation and abandonment, Olise viewed the Gowanus Canal as a subject worth reviving and uplifting, as her paintings romanticize the seemingly forgotten monuments, factories, and landscapes. Inspired by Robert Smithson’s article “Monuments of the Passaic,” published in 1967 in ArtForum, Olise recreates his journey along the Hackensack River in New Jersey. As Smithson traveled west of Manhattan, toward the Passaic bridges of New Jersey, describing the decaying monuments and ruins near the Hackensack River, Olise journeyed east to Brooklyn and found a similar situation surrounding the Gowanus Canal. Smithson documented his voyage with an Instamatic 400 and referred to the deserted locations he photographed as “non-spaces.” Olise mirrors his concept by illustrating the scenery of the Gowanus Canal through a series of monumental paintings, in order to find what she calls the empty “pores” of the city, spaces left behind to fall into dust. Olise examines the monuments of Gowanus, the hidden spaces beneath the bridges, the uninhabited factories, and the polluted waters of the canal, and ultimately gives them new life by painting them, thus solidifying their existence and transforming them into “crystals of industrialization.”
Crystal Bites of Dust opens Friday, January 11, with an artist reception from 6:30 – 8:30PM. This exhibition is on view January 11, 2013 through March 9, 2013.
For more information, please contact Barbara Davis Gallery at 713.520.9200 or info@barbaradavisgallery.com.
For this exhibition, Danish artist Mie Olise Kjærgaard unveils her exploration of the Gowanus Canal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn through a series of new paintings that investigate the impact of industrialism on the surrounding area. Laden with desolation and abandonment, Olise viewed the Gowanus Canal as a subject worth reviving and uplifting, as her paintings romanticize the seemingly forgotten monuments, factories, and landscapes. Inspired by Robert Smithson’s article “Monuments of the Passaic,” published in 1967 in ArtForum, Olise recreates his journey along the Hackensack River in New Jersey. As Smithson traveled west of Manhattan, toward the Passaic bridges of New Jersey, describing the decaying monuments and ruins near the Hackensack River, Olise journeyed east to Brooklyn and found a similar situation surrounding the Gowanus Canal. Smithson documented his voyage with an Instamatic 400 and referred to the deserted locations he photographed as “non-spaces.” Olise mirrors his concept by illustrating the scenery of the Gowanus Canal through a series of monumental paintings, in order to find what she calls the empty “pores” of the city, spaces left behind to fall into dust. Olise examines the monuments of Gowanus, the hidden spaces beneath the bridges, the uninhabited factories, and the polluted waters of the canal, and ultimately gives them new life by painting them, thus solidifying their existence and transforming them into “crystals of industrialization.”
Crystal Bites of Dust opens Friday, January 11, with an artist reception from 6:30 – 8:30PM. This exhibition is on view January 11, 2013 through March 9, 2013.
For more information, please contact Barbara Davis Gallery at 713.520.9200 or info@barbaradavisgallery.com.
About the artist:
Mie Olise Kjærgaard was born on the Island of Mors, Denmark, in 1974. She received her MFA from the Central St. Martins School of Art, London in 2007. Her solo exhibitions include Skive New Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark, with accompanying catalog; Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles; Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston, TX; and the Nikolaj, Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, Denmark. She was a finalist in the Saatchi Sensation Show, Saatchi Gallery, London and her work has been included in exhibitions at Ystad Museum of Art, Ystad, Sweden; Whitstable Biennale, Kent, United Kingdom; and Bloomberg Space, London. In addition to completing a residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Olise has also completed residencies at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York, and the NES Artist Residency in Iceland. She has received awards from the Danish Art Council, the Rockwool Foundation, and the Niels Wessel Bagge Art Foundation. Her work has been reviewed by ArtForum, Art Review, FlashArt International, and Magazinet Kunst. In 2013, Olise will open a new travelling exhibition starting at Museo de Arte Acarigua-Araure in Venezuela.
Click here to view the artist's CV and see more examples of her work.
For Mie's review by Houston Chronicle, click here.
For Mie's review by CultureMap, click here.
For Mie's review by Arts and Culture Magazine, click here.
For Mie's review by HoustonPress, click here.
For Mie's interview with KUHF, click here.
For Mie's interview with Huffington Post, click here.
Mie Olise Kjærgaard was born on the Island of Mors, Denmark, in 1974. She received her MFA from the Central St. Martins School of Art, London in 2007. Her solo exhibitions include Skive New Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark, with accompanying catalog; Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles; Barbara Davis Gallery, Houston, TX; and the Nikolaj, Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, Denmark. She was a finalist in the Saatchi Sensation Show, Saatchi Gallery, London and her work has been included in exhibitions at Ystad Museum of Art, Ystad, Sweden; Whitstable Biennale, Kent, United Kingdom; and Bloomberg Space, London. In addition to completing a residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Olise has also completed residencies at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York, and the NES Artist Residency in Iceland. She has received awards from the Danish Art Council, the Rockwool Foundation, and the Niels Wessel Bagge Art Foundation. Her work has been reviewed by ArtForum, Art Review, FlashArt International, and Magazinet Kunst. In 2013, Olise will open a new travelling exhibition starting at Museo de Arte Acarigua-Araure in Venezuela.
Click here to view the artist's CV and see more examples of her work.
For Mie's review by Houston Chronicle, click here.
For Mie's review by CultureMap, click here.
For Mie's review by Arts and Culture Magazine, click here.
For Mie's review by HoustonPress, click here.
For Mie's interview with KUHF, click here.
For Mie's interview with Huffington Post, click here.

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