14 Oct 2010

Re:Cycle-Bike Culture in Southern California: UCR Sweeney Art Gallery Has Re-Opened

Exploring the effects of bicycles on art and culture, Re:Cycle—Bike Culture in Southern California includes thirty artists and collectives that use the bicycle as both a metaphor and a realization for restructuring the urban environment. In the past few years, bicycle activists, advocates, and aficionados have proven to be vociferous in their desire for reimagining city landscapes in the U.S., such as Los Angeles, that have been built around the automobile as the primary mode of transportation. However, contrary to this view, significant 'bike cultures' have developed throughout the Southern California region in the past few years. It is a reflection of a shifting value system that looks towards alternate means of transportation, the promotion of healthy lifestyles, and a cultural shift from consumption to sustainability.

The exhibition opens October 7 and closes December 31, 2010. It inaugurates University of California, Riverside's Sweeney Art Gallery's new space in UCR's Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts, both of which open to the public with a gala weekend, October 7-9, 2010. The exhibition will be presented in both the Sweeney Art Gallery and the Culver's Atrium Gallery, encompassing 4,000-square-feet. The roster of artists represent a range from recent graduates to those in mid-career, and have been selected from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties. The works are mostly sculptural in nature as they incorporate actual bicycles, but the exhibition also includes drawing, photography, public actions, and video.

Organized by UCR Sweeney Art Gallery, and curated by Tyler Stallings, Artistic Director, Culver Center of the Arts & Director, Sweeney Art Gallery.

Artists in the Exhibition:
Lisa Anne Auerbach, Tad Beck, The Bicycle Lounge, Nathan Bockelman & Cameron Crone, Damon Boyd/Nomad Cruiser, Leslie Caldera, John Divola, Sean Duffy, East Hollywood ArtCycle, Timo Fahler, Finishing School, Ghost Bike, Clement Hanami, Gabriel Hargrove, Simon Hughes, Folke Köbberling & Martin Kaltwasser, Diane Meyer, Midnight Ridazz, Patrick Miller, Rubén Ortiz Torres, Ashira Siegel, Samuel Starr, C.R. Stecyk, Taco Tuesdays, Dan 'El Daino' Torres, Jud Turner, Lee Tusman, UCR Bourns College of Engineering, Human Powered Vehicle, Ali Valle, Raphael Xavier