LAINI NEMETT
When We Lived Here
807 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12308 518.388.6004 For more information: union.edu/gallery ISBN: 978-1-939968-10-5 All of the works in this exhibition are held in copyright through the artist unless otherwise noted; all rights reserved. Publication copyright Š 2017 Union College. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission from the publisher and artists. Edited by Sarah Mottalini Design by Elizabeth Laub Printing by Fort Orange Press Co-sponsorship for this exhibition has been generously provided by the Department of Visual Arts.
LAINI NEMETT When We Lived Here AUGUST 26 – DECEMBER 3, 2017
MANDEVILLE GALLERY UNION COLLEGE
FORWARD BY AARON LEVI GARVEY
“Home is where one starts from. As we grow older The world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated”1 –T. S. ELIOT
W
hether by natural disaster or mankind, in the name of progress or dissension, structures have always had a shelf life. Despite those removals, the act of rebuilding and moving forward, either as a form of healing or necessity, has been constant. This act of reconstruction further encompasses and supports the idea of how humankind occupies land and creates new dwellings. However, it can be argued, “We do not dwell because we have built, but we build and have built because we dwell.”2 Recalling that no matter where mankind is in the grand scheme of progress, location, and experience, the creation of memories lives beyond a single time and place. When we consider our place of birth, the demarcation of what constitutes “home” is blurred. It may always exist in the mind, but this can also be said of the physical structure: the place or dwelling that holds the most significant memories of a life. Colloquially, this idea manifests in the phrase, “make yourself at home,” because here, in this space, there is comfort and security. However, when a personal history associated with a home is littered by anguish, loss, or defeat, this shifts the association, and it perhaps becomes more fraught. In either instance, we often use our personal construct of “home” as a reference point in our daily lives and throughout our personal histories. Houses exceed the perimeter of four walls because they are intrinsically linked to the memories of these sites. Location and relocation are seated around a physical home space. The emotions (expansive or defeated) of moving to a new residence and personalizing it can be reinforced or unraveled, only to encounter a version of those feelings upon departure. Freedom, hope, and excitement, contrasted by sadness or relief in leaving behind the former household and memories, are hard to quantify and often harder to parse, tangled as they can be with the real
and imagined experiences of living in a shared space. In his October 28, 1943 address to the House of Commons, Winston Churchill said: “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”3 This statement references not only the many intentions for which architecture is created, but also the enduring interactions by humankind that pave the paths of our histories and build bridges to our futures. The exhibition When We Lived Here, by artist Laini Nemett, delves into the similar notion that memories and personas are stored within architectural structures of our time. Fusing drawing, painting, maquettes, and photography, Nemett, a Baltimore native and dual resident of Queens and Schenectady, New York, has spent the better part of the last decade exploring the narratives and open-ended questions of what defines the construct of homes. Nemett’s ties to the Anarchitecture Group, led by notable contemporary artists Jene Highstein, Tina Girouard, Gordon Matta-Clark, and Richard Nonas, are prevalent in her approach to place making. Anarchitecture principles and ideals are recalled through the manner in which she highlights the structures as anonymous, deconstructs the idea of a singular location, and splices together the narratives and histories with the physical elements and markers of structure. Anarchitecture, as once described in the exhibition catalogue for a Gordon Matta-Clark retrospective, is “an anarchistic approach to architecture, marked physically by a breaking of convention through a process of ‘undoing’ or ‘deconstructing’ rather than creating a structure.”4 Nemett accomplishes this through probing investigations that examine how locations retain memories and experiences that outlive their tenants, with the hope that these shared moments will transcend the physical spaces. These “composite homes,” as Nemett describes them, surpass any singular space or location and
bring forward familiarity and readability. Interlacing building elements from her travels, on-location image research, and field studies, Nemett’s works evoke a sense of nostalgia and moments of recognition for the audience. Throughout her work, the contrast between handmade and machine-made is constant. From steel girders to hand-laid bricks, drywall sheets in refuse piles to concrete stairways leading to nowhere, each of the scenes depicted represent locations that hold different emotional weights for each viewer: some places we might have lived in, other places we might have passed by without acknowledgment. Since memories are transient moments held within the hearts and minds of individuals, the physical space of a departed home is the only surviving memento of one’s past within a particular time and place. Laughter, tears, holidays, and anniversaries are all held within a secondary location beyond the concrete. As we depart these homes— our personal places of comfort or strife—we must consider that once the deadbolts slide closed, our memories and experiences are held in place for the rest of time. Of course, once the building ceases to exist, the memories take on the form of vestiges from the fragment of the former structure. Nemett and her work have proven that explorations of architecture and our interactions within it are boundless and trek well beyond a singular movement or location. The artist forges new ground and explanations of how, why, where, when, and who interacts with buildings and the spaces they inhabit. If indeed the old adage is true and “home is where you make it,” then one must consider when looking at Nemett’s work that we are creating extensions of our identities to be shared with one another for all time. T. S. Eliot, “East Coker,” in Four Quartets (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1943), 17. 1
Martin Heidegger, Building Dwelling Thinking (New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1971), 3. 2
Winston Churchill, “House of Commons Rebuilding,” Commons Sitting of October 28, 1943, Series 5, Vol. 393, 403-473. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1943/oct/28/ house-of-commons-rebuilding#S5CV0393P0_19431028_HOC_283 3
Mary Jane Jacob, Gordon Matta-Clark: Retrospective (Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art, 1985), 8. 4
November
LAINI NEMETT
works with cardboard
models, collage, and large-scale oil paintings to create architectural environments that explore the idea of home. She holds a B.A. in Visual Arts and a B.A. in the History of Art and Architecture from Brown University, and an M.F.A. from the Leroy E. Hoffberger School of Painting at Maryland Institute College of Art. Nemett has been a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, a Joan Mitchell Foundation M.F.A. Grant, a Queens Council on the Arts grant, and she has held residencies at the UCross Foundation (Clearmont, WY), Jentel Artist Residency Program (Banner, WY), Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (Amherst, VA), and the Alfred and Trafford Klots International Program for Artists (Léhon, France). This winter she was in residence at the Joan Mitchell Center (New Orleans, LA). Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows at the Guilin Art Museum (Guilin, China), SACI Gallery (Florence, Italy), This Red Door at REH Kunst (Berlin, Germany), YoungArts with JP Morgan Chase Art Collection for Miami Basel Art Week (Miami, FL), Leedy-Voulkos Art Center (Kansas City, MO), Ethan Cohen Fine Arts (New York, NY), Gold Coast Arts Center (Long Island, NY), CollarWorks (Troy, NY), Geoffrey Young Gallery (Great Barrington, MA), VisArts (Bethesda, MD), George Mason University (Fairfax, VA), and other venues in Africa, Italy, Spain, and throughout the U.S. Nemett is the John D. MacArthur Assistant Professor of Drawing and Painting at Union College.
“I build small cardboard models of composite environments that appear believable at first glance, yet are not architecturally logical. These models act as reference for immersive oil paintings that straddle the gap between illusion and experience, each one exploring a personal sense of place.”
November, (model)
“I collage and collapse planes to conjure the passing of time and the generations of lives lived between the aging walls.�
Queensboro Seine
Africa, Delaware, & Roosevelt Island
Neighbors: 2511 Forstall 2
Neighbors: 6128 N. Miro 2
Neighbors: 6128 N. Miro
Neighbors: Between Flood & Egania
Neighbors: 720 Charbonnet
Neighbors: 6126 N. Miro
Neighbors: 6126 N. Miro 2
Neighbors: 720 Charbonnet 2
“In post-Katrina New Orleans, plots of land sit empty and houses are reduced to piles with remnants of a family’s life peeking through the refuse.”
6126 N. Miro
6128 N. Miro
“As I paint, I discover the parallels of life and loss across cultures, and the collective ways we understand the idea of home.�
1809 Esplanade
3215 St. Claude (detail at right)
LAINI NEMETT Solo & Two-Person Exhibitions 2016
Assembled: Laini Nemett & Chris Duncan, CollarWorks, Troy, NY
2015
Laini Nemett: Recent Work, Carver Center Gallery, George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Baltimore, MD
Interiors, Gold Coast Art Center, Great Neck, NY 2015
Tell it Slant, Platform Gallery, Baltimore, MD
2009
Groundwork, Canterbury Salon, Baltimore, MD
Excavations, (3-person show for Brown University 250th Anniversary), Cohen Gallery, the Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Brown University, Providence, RI
Barcelona and Other Doorways, Mason Hall Atrium Gallery, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA Intimate Instances, List Art Center, Brown University, Providence, RI
2003
Laini Nemett: Recent Paintings, List Art Center, Brown University, Providence, RI
MAP Annual Benefit, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, MD
2016
When We Were Young, curated by JP Morgan Chase Art Collection for Art Basel Miami, YoungArts Gallery, Miami, FL Low Entropy, 245 Varet, Brooklyn, NY
Fourth National Juried Exhibition, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY Adam´s Crayons: A Tale of A Few Stories, Stevenson University Gallery, Stevenson, MD Corazón Loco, Espai B, Barcelona, Spain
20042008
Alumni Exhibition, G.W. Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Baltimore, MD
2006
From Zeros to Heroes, Sarah Doyle Women´s Center, Brown University, Providence, RI
La Lumière Fantastique, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
2006, 2004
2013 Faculty Exhibition, MICA, Baltimore, MD
Juried Spring Exhibition, David Winton Bell Gallery, List Art Center, Brown University, Providence, RI
2004
Laini Nemett, Nisa Zwagel, and Rachel Levinson, Gordon Center for Performing Arts, Owings Mills, MD
Across Generations: A Benefit Auction, The Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation, New York, NY 2013
A Jaca dos Americanos, Casa das Artes Criação Ambiente e Utopias (CACAU), São Tomé, Africa
2008
An Arm and a Leg, Loft 594, Brooklyn, NY
On Location, Loft 594, Brooklyn, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2011
Dialoghi dell’Arte Painting Collective, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, MO
Space and Its Companions, Warner Gallery, O’Brien Arts Center, St. Andrews School, Middleton, DE
2006
Bethesda Painting Awards Finalists, Gallery B, Bethesda, MD
UCross, Unbarred, UCross Foundation, Clearmont, WY
Here is where we say it is, Meyerhoff Gallery, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD 2010
Director’s Choice: New Ground, Rymer Gallery, Nashville, TN
Marquee Ball: To The Max, Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD 2014
Dialoghi dell’Arte, McMaster Gallery, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC Unplaceable, MIMA Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Confluence + Influence, Hewitt Gallery of Art, Marymount Manhattan Gallery, New York, NY
Traces: Recent Work by Laini Nemett, Guilin Art Museum, Guilin, China 2012
2012
Dialoghi dell’Arte, Works on Paper, Guilin Museum of Art, Guilin, China; SACI Gallery, Florence, Italy
East of Sheridan, Gibbs Street Gallery, VisArts, Rockville, MD 2014
Polysolaris, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA
Ciudad Saudade / Architectures of Memory, Reverse Space, Brooklyn, NY
This Red Door, REH Kunst, Berlin, Germany Sharper Image Part II, an Ethan Cohen Project, ArtSTRAND, Provincetown, MA Sharper Image, Ethan Cohen Fine Art, New York, NY
Summer Selections, Galerie Françoise et ses frères, Baltimore, MD Maryland Artist Equity Foundation Exhibition, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD
Selected Public Collections
Visiting Artist Engagements
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Casa das Artes Criação Ambiente e Utopias, São Tomé e Príncipe, Africa
2017
Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
2015-present Union College, Assistant Professor of Drawing and Painting, Schenectady, NY
G.W. Carver Center for the Arts and Technology, Baltimore, MD
2016
Studio Art Centers International (SACI), Florence, Italy
2015 Marymount Manhattan College, Adjunct Professor, New York, NY
University of New Orleans, LA 2014
Studio Art Centers International (SACI), Florence, Italy
2012-2015 Maryland Institute College of Art, Adjunct Professor, Baltimore, MD
Ethan Cohen, New York, NY LeRoy E. Hoffberger, Baltimore, MD Guilin Museum of Art, Guilin, China
Brown University, Providence, RI
St. Andrews School, Middleton, DE
Selected Honors & Residencies 2017
2012 Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Casa das Artes Criação Ambiente e Utopias (CACAU), São Tomé, Africa
John D. MacArthur Assistant Professorship, Union College
2010
Brown University, Providence, RI
2009
International School of Painting, Castello Drawing, and Sculpture, Monte Castello di Vibio, Umbria, Italy
Joan Mitchell Center Residency, New Orleans, LA
2015
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Amherst, VA
2014
UCross Foundation Residency, Clearmont, WY
Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD 2008
2013
Alfred and Trafford Klots International Program for Artists, Léhon, France
2012
Joan Mitchell Foundation, M.F.A. Grant
2006 Brown University, Providence, RI B.A. with honors, Visual Arts; B.A., magna cum laude, History of Art and Architecture
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD 2007
Bethesda Painting Awards, Young Artist Award
International School of Painting, Castello Drawing, and Sculpture, Monte Castello di Vibio, Umbria, Italy Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD
Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, Award Nominee
International School of Painting, Castello Drawing, and Sculpture, Monte Castello di Vibio, Umbria, Italy
2006- US Fulbright Grant in Painting, Barcelona, 2007 Spain
1st Annual Fulbright Fellow’s Research Symposium, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Yale Norfolk Summer Residency, Norfolk, CT Brown University, Conway Travel Grant to paint in Rochefort-en-Terre, France
M.F.A. Leroy E. Hoffberger School of Painting
International School of Painting, Castello Drawing, and Sculpture, Monte Castello di Vibio, Umbria, Italy
Jentel Artist Residency Program, Banner, WY
2005
EDUCATION
2011
Awesome Foundation Grant, New York Chapter
2007
Pace University, New York, NY This Red Door, REH Kunst, Berlin, Germany
National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works Grant, in partnership with Transitional Services for New York
Queens Council on the Arts, New Works Grant 2016
2013
2012 Goucher College, Adjunct Professor, Baltimore, MD
2002
St. John’s University, Jamaica, NY
Building Study, Feigenbaum 1
LAINI NEMETT Checklist
acknowledgements
1809 Esplanade, 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 40 x 25 inches
I wish to thank Julie Lohnes, Curator of Art Collections and Exhibitions at the Mandeville Gallery, for her eye, her precision, and for all the work she has done to make this show a reality. I also want to extend my appreciation to Sarah Mottalini, Curatorial Assistant of Art Collections and Exhibitions, for her work behind the scenes in helping to put together this exhibition and catalogue, and to Elizabeth Laub for her graphic design vision.
3215 St. Claude, 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 40 x 25 inches 6126 N. Miro, 2017, oil on linen, 53 x 49 inches 6128 N. Miro, 2017, oil on linen, 53 x 49 inches Africa, Delaware, & Roosevelt Island, 2013, oil and gesso transfer on linen, 70 x 72 inches Before (model), 2016, collage on balsa wood, and cardboard, 16 x 13 x 14 inches Building Study, Feigenbaum 1, 2016, graphite on paper, 4 x 4 inches Building Study, Feigenbaum 2, 2016, graphite on paper, 4 x 4 inches Building Study, Feigenbaum 3, 2016, graphite on paper, 4 x 4 inches Building Study, Feigenbaum 4, 2016, graphite on paper, 4 x 4 inches Building Study, Feigenbaum 5, 2016, graphite on paper, 4 x 4 inches Building Study, Feigenbaum 6, 2016, graphite on paper, 4 x 4 inches Building Study, Feigenbaum 7, 2016, graphite on paper, 4 x 4 inches Building Study, Feigenbaum 8, 2016, graphite on paper, 4 x 4 inches Five Hours in Paris, 2016, oil on linen, 44 x 60 inches Knockdown Center, 2016, oil on linen 56 x 78 inches La Tour, 2016, oil on linen, 38 x 44 inches Last Door on the Right, 2016, oil on linen, 38 x 44 inches Last Door on the Right (model), 2016, collage, balsa wood, and cardboard, 12 x 18 x 10 inches Neighbors: 2511 Forstall 2 (study), 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 6 x 8 inches Neighbors: 6126 N. Miro (study), 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 6 1/2 x 7 inches Neighbors: 6126 N. Miro 2 (study), 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 6 x 7 1/2 inches Neighbors: 6128 N. Miro (study), 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 6 x 8 inches Neighbors: 6128 N. Miro 2 (study), 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 6 x 7 1/2 inches
I am deeply grateful to the UCross Foundation, Jentel Foundation, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans for providing the concentrated time, space, and creative energy that enabled me to make the majority of this work. Parts of this exhibition were also made possible through a grant from the Humanities Faculty Research Fund at Union College. Finally, I want to thank the Department of Visual Arts at Union College for its generous support of this catalogue, and my colleagues both within and outside of the department who have helped make this place home.
Neighbors: 720 Charbonnet (study), 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 6 x 8 inches Neighbors: 720 Charbonnet 2 (study), 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 6 x 8 inches Neighbors: Between Flood & Egania (study), 2017, oil on Dura-Lar, 6 x 9 inches November, 2016, oil on linen, 80 x 46 inches November (model), 2016, oil, gouache on balsa wood, and cardboard, 8 x 10 x 17 inches Queensboro Seine, 2015, oil on linen, 82 x 61 inches Queensboro Seine 2, 2014, graphite powder on paper, 36 x 22 inches Unwalled, 2016, oil on linen, 38 x 44 inches
opposite: Knockdown Center front cover: Last Door on the Right back cover: Last Door on the Right, (model)