Nate Young Clermomancy September 9 – November 4, 2017 Introduction by Rossella Farinotti!
This publication was produced on the occasion of Nate Young’s second solo exhibition at moniquemeloche in fall of 2017.
Copyright 2017
Cleromancy [kleer-uh-man-see, kler-] noun 1. the casting of lots as a means of divination
!
Installation view!
!
Installation view !
!
Nate Young, a narration between a true reliquary and a family itinerary by Rossella Farinotti A large bone protrudes out of a wooden sculpture. To approach this installation is to encounter something mystic and to observe a reliquary that Nate Young has created, together with its hand-drawn copy. We are dealing here with a diptych made for Cleromancy, Young’s second solo show at moniquemeloche: the bone of a horse, one that the artist himself dug up, sticks out from a walnut base that grows from the earth and is placed in dialogue with a pencil drawing of the bone itself, covered at the top by a gray cloud, to designate the part that is visible in the sculpture. A game with a clear aim. The artist has drawn what we do not really see. The part hidden in the earth is visible on the paper. And vice versa. What does this indicate? Why are we denied the reality of the whole? Young has given the observer a narrative based on real events, but portrayed with symbolic, mystic, personal and, I might say, even false elements. A contradiction based on an artistic reproduction that Young recreates through drawings, sculptures, installations, and a performance. And so a doubt is triggered. The theme of doubles is an attractive one for artists. A double has often been developed through symbols and different meanings, and through them there emerges the idea of repetition, of a twin, a doppelganger, copy, or exchange. The idea of a relationship between two entities is also another fascinating theme. And a very philosophical one. Indeed, one need only consider Plato’s “cave” where the question of the existence of reality is acute, or of DidiHuberman’s ideas about images. Young has undertaken new itineraries built on personal stories linked to his family and his studies; these are conceptual and pragmatic and indicate a tangible development of his art, both in its marks and its aesthetics, which are immediately recognizable but more immediate. Young upturns truth, and at times he reveals this, while at others he conceals it. Might this be the reproduction of a real object? Who is it that decides that the original and what was derived from it are not the same? Why is it that the copy, the one made by the artist with his pencil drawings or with his wooden sculptures – the two media most typical of Young’s practice – though not being original are always different? This is a unicum that sparks off everything.
Nate Young’s poetics often arise out of a personal story that he develops in different ways. It is enough to think of his past series “Diagrams with my father” where the artist takes up the theological teachings of his father, through a rereading based on language, and aesthetically reworks them with refined and detailed diagrams on paper and various kinds of wood with sophisticated incisions and inlays. This time what interests the artist is the story of his greatgrandfather, from the southern United States who undertook a journey during the Great Migration. We don’t know where he came from. We don’t know what he was doing. He made a personal evolution that Young has testified to with a ring, exhibited by moniquemeloche at EXPO Chicago, given to him by his father. Or maybe Young found it. The handing down of a symbol, in the case of the ring, from generation to generation, is the inspiration for a new story that begins with the discovery of the horse’s bones. It is once again a narrative linked to the subject of migration, here entwined with the history of black jockeys, who were originally an integral part of American horse racing, but who were later excluded from official races, and forced to move from country to country. Migration, mysticism, Masonry, identity, predictions, and divining, memory and history. Memories and histories) are documented by the existence of the ring and the staging of the bone, as well as by the use of holograms. All new pieces that Young created for this new body of work. In other words, the themes revealed in this show are diverse and complex. It is up to Young to unravel them and to mediate between truth/fantasy/visual poetry, the visual poetry that prompts viewers to absorb complex stories and concepts through a clear language.
“…run, and see that your bones stay together, they're trying to escape, they don't want to stay with us”. – Hermann Hesse.
!
Installation view!
!
Installation view Left to right: Divining No. 2, 2017; Diving No. 1, 2017!
!
Divining No. 1, 2017 (detail) !
!
Divining No. 1, 2017 Graphite on paper and vellum, walnut frame 79 x 46 in. (200.7 x 116.8 cm)
!
!
Divining No. 2, 2017 (detail) !
!
!
!
Divining No. 2, 2017 Graphite on paper and vellum, walnut frame 79 x 46 in. (200.7 x 116.8 cm)
!
!
Divining No. 3, 2017 (detail) !
!
!
!
Divining No. 3, 2017 Graphite on paper and vellum, walnut frame 79 x 46 in. (200.7 x 116.8 cm)
!
!
!
!
Installation view Left to right: Interment, 2017; Grave Goods, 2017; Exhumed, 2017 !
!
!
!
Interment, 2017 Gold leaf, walnut, Plexiglas, horse bone, spray paint, LED 28 1/2 x 16 x 6 in. (72.4 x 40.6 x 15.2 cm)
!
!
!
!
Grave Goods, 2017 Gold leaf, walnut, Plexiglas, horse bone, spray paint, LED 28 1/2 x 16 x 6 in. (72.4 x 40.6 x 15.2 cm)
!
!
!
!
Exhumed, 2017 Gold leaf, walnut, Plexiglas, horse bone, spray paint, LED 28 1/2 x 16 x 6 in. (72.4 x 40.6 x 15.2 cm)
!
!
!
!
Untitled, 2017 Walnut, horse bone, graphite on paper, dirt plinth: 50 x 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches; drawing: 30 x 12 1/2 inches
!
Untitled, 2017 (detail)!
!
!
Untitled, 2017 (detail)!
!
! Contributor Biographies
Rossella Farinotti is a contemporary art critic, curator and writer. Farinotti is the co-author of the film encyclopedia il Farinotti, and has contributed to publications and magazines such as Arte, Flash Art Italia, Exibart, Sofà, and her blog, Labrouge. In 2013, Farinotti published il Quadro che visse due volte (Milan: Morellini Publishing, 2013), a book on the close relationship between art and film. In 2014, with the support of the city of Milan, she realized Arte contemporanea: Giants in Milan (DAN Production) a documentary on contemporary art in Milan, directed by Giacomo Favilla. She has a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Milan, and an advanced degree in Communication and Organization of Contemporary Art from Brera Academy in Milan. She lives and works between Milan, Italy, and Chicago, IL.
Nate Young (American b. 1981, Minneapolis, MN, lives in Chicago, IL) received his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 2009 and a BA from Northwestern College in Minnesota in 2004. He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2009, and was invited back as a Dean of the residency in 2015. Young’s first solo museum exhibition, The Unseen Evidence of Things Substantiated, opened at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia in 2015, followed by Stations, at Luce Gallery in Turin (2016) and a group exhibition at Galleria Zero in Milan (2016). In 2016, he exhibited with moniquemeloche alongside Sanford Biggers and Ebony G. Patterson at UNTITLED Miami, and again with Biggers and Kate Levant at Artissima, Italy. Other recent solo and group Four Saints in Three Acts, DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL (2017); But not yet: in the spirit of linguistics, moniquemeloche (2015); Retreat, curated by Theaster Gates, Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago (2014); the Soap Factory’s Minnesota Biennial (2013); Fore, at The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2012); Go Tell It on the Mountain, at the California African American Museum, Los Angeles (2012). In the spring of 2017, Young’s second solo museum exhibition took place at Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VA, titled re:collection. His second solo exhibition at moniquemeloche, Cleromancy, opened in September of 2017. Young is the recipient of the Knight Arts Challenge Fellowship from the Knight Foundation (2014), the Bush Fellowship for Visual Artists (2010) and the Jerome Fellowship for Emerging Artists (2014). His work is in notable public collections, including the Walker Art Center. Young is co-founder and director of the artist run exhibition space, The Bindery Projects, in Minneapolis. He currently lives and works in Chicago, IL and teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
NATE YOUNG American, born 1981, lives Chicago, IL Education 2009 Master of Fine Arts, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA 2009 Residency, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME 2004 B.A. Visual Arts Education, Northwestern College, Saint Paul, MN Solo/Two Person Exhibitions 2017 Cleromancy, moniquemeloche, Chicago, IL re(collection), Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Richmond, VA 2016 Stations, Luce Gallery, Turin, Italy 2015 Present Future, Curated by Luigi Fasso, Artissima, solo booth, moniquemeloche, Turin, Italy The Unseen Evidence of Things Substantiated, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA (Residency) But not yet: in the spirit of linguistics, moniquemeloche, Chicago, IL 2014 Rehearsals, Bethel University, Arden Hills, MN Tony Lewis, Nate Young, Room East, New York, NY 2013 Joy, The Suburban, Oak Park, IL 2012 How to Make a Slave/ How to Make a God, Fluxx Gallery, Des Moines, IA 2011 Postracializationalism, The XYandZ, Minneapolis, MN 2009 The Wrath of the Math, Lime Gallery, Valencia, CA 2008 Drawings on the Process of Ingestion and Regurgitation, Main Gallery, Valencia, CA Group Exhibitions 2017 The Darryl Atwell Collection of African-American Art, The Harvey Gantt Center, Charlotte, NC The Presidential Library Project: Black Presidential Imaginary, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL Four Saints in Three Acts, DePaul Art Museum, DePaul University, Chicago, IL 2016 Viewpoints, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco, CA Chicago Invites Chicago, Galerie Lelong, New York, NY ! Partoftheprocess7 _Imitatio Christie’s II, Galleria Zero, Milan, Italy 2014 Retreat (curated by Theaster Gates), Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago, IL Jerome Fellows Exhibition, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN Double Plus Good, Tuck Under Projects, Minneapolis, MN Live Work Make Create, Katherine Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 2013 The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN Works on Paper, Burnett Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 2012 Fore, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY Go Tell it on the Mountain, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA Body Word and Image, Drake University, Des Moines, IA Authenticity, Untitled Projects, Los Angeles, CA The Critics Show, Hopkins Art Center, Hopkins, MN! 2011 Monster Drawing Rally, Midway Contemporary Art, Minneapolis, MN Anthology (Participant), PS1 MOMA, New York, NY 2010 The Smell of God, Obsidian Arts, Minneapolis, MN The Road To Hell is Paved, La Cienega Projects, Los Angeles, CA 2009 Goo, Denler Gallery, St. Paul, MN Study of Gratification and Restraint No. 2 (video screening), Redact, Los Angeles, CA!
!
Group Exhibitions continued 2009 Why Theory, Spring Arts Tower, Los Angeles, CA 2008 Mid Res, D301, Valencia, CA Changing Ties, Gallery 50, Los Angeles, CA 2007 ONE Show, Evening Side Gallery, Val Verde, CA Selected Bibliography 2017 Lord, Jo. “Art Gallery: Chicago artist Nate Young showing ‘(re)collection’ at Visual Arts Center”, Richmond Times Dispatch, May 10. 2017 Binlot, Ann. “UNTITLED Takes on San Francisco for First Time”, Artnet, January 13. Binlot, Ann. “5 Highlights of Untitled, San Francisco As It Wraps Up A Successful First Edition”, January 19. 2016 Goldstein, Andrew M. “5 Artists to Discover at EXPO Chicago 2016”, Artspace, September 23. Glenn, Allison (ed.) Nate Young Artissima 2015: PRESENT FUTURE, Rossella Farinotti, trans. Chicago: moniquemeloche, November 2015. 2015 Harris, Gareth. “Cattelan rugs, bongs and beyond”, Financial Times, December 3. Khadivi, Jesi. “Artist Spotlight: Nate Young at Untitled”, ArtSlant, December 2. Lin, Amy. “Contemplating the Spiritual with Nate Young and Monique Meloche at Artissima 2015”, Widewalls, November 7. Tattoli, Federica. “#ArtissimaLive. Present Future Special_issue#2”, Fruit of the Forest, November. Morris, Matt. “Eye Exam: Authority, Affirmations and Other Nomenclature”, Newcity, February 19. 2014 Morris, Matt. “Newcity’s Top 5 of Everything 2014: Art”, Newcity, December 24. Retreat, exh. cat. Chicago: Valerie Carberry Gallery and Richard Gray Gallery. 2013 Schouweiler, Sussanah. “Biennial Fail: Making It Make Sense“, Hyperallergic, October 25. Abbe, Mary. “Minnesota Biennial features 38 state artists at Soap Factory in Minneapolis“, Star Tribune, September 12. Gabler, Jay. “,,,”, ArtForum, September. Haber, John. “Is It Post-Black Yet?”, habertarts.com, February. 2012 Inouye, Ryan. “Drawing Lines in the Sand: On the Work of Nate Young”, Fore, exh. cat., New York: The Studio Museum in Harlem. Cotter, Holland. “Racial Redefinition in Progress: ‘Fore’ at Studio Museum in Harlem“, New York Times, November 29. Lot, Jessica. “Alchemy of Inspiration”, art21 Blog, November 20. Fraser, Paul. “CalArtians at the ‘Fore’ at Studio Museum in Harlem”, 24700, November 9. Alexander, Darsie. “Roving Eye: Minneapolis”, Art in America (online), May 16. “Minneapolis artist Nate Young at Fluxx”, Art Beacon, April 11. 2011 Mault, Coco. “Nate Young's 'Postracialization' at XYandZ Gallery”, City Pages, September 9. Visiting Artist and Curatorial Projects 2017 Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Richmond, VA (Residency) 2016Professor, Department of Art, The School of Art & Art History at the University of Illinois at Chicago, IL 2015 The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA (Residency) 2012– Founder and Curator, The Bindery Projects, Saint Paul, MN 2014 Visiting Artist Lecturer, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN Visiting Artist Lecturer, Bethel University, Arden Hills, MN Live Work Create Artist Panel, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 2013 Visiting Artist Lecturer, University Of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 2012 Visiting Artist Lecturer, Drake University, Des Moines, IA
!
!
Fellowships and Awards 2014 Knight Arts Challenge, Knight Foundation, Saint Paul, MN Fellowship, Jerome Foundation, Minneapolis, MN 2011 Cultural Community Collaboration, Minnesota State Arts Board, Minneapolis, MN 2010 Fellowship, Bush Fellowship, Minneapolis, MN Public Collections Mural, Chambers Art Hotel, Minneapolis, MN Mural, Free Spirit Publishing, Minneapolis, MN Mural, McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis, MN Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
!
Monique Meloche Gallery was founded in October 2000 with an inaugural exhibition titled Homewrecker at Meloche’s home, and officially opened to the public in May 2001. Working with an international group of emerging artists in all media, the gallery presents conceptually challenging installations in Chicago and at art fairs internationally with an emphasis on curatorial and institutional outreach.
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !