assume vivid astro focus
always vacationing among flamingos
April 18 - May 23, 2020
Fredric Snitzer Gallery is pleased to present always vacationing among flamingos by assume vivid astro focus. Always vacationing among flamingos is an installation that combines artworks spanning over a decade of the artists’ career. This installation connects the artists’ practice over different “eras” recontextualizing artworks from past and present into a wholly new iteration.
The selection of paintings included within this presentation highlights avaf’s dynamic approach to painting over a span of time – from their earliest paintings that bridge the gap between figuration and abstraction with minimized color palletes to paintings focused solely on abstraction with various manipulations of medium and surface. This transition into pure abstraction also marks a moment where the artist begins pulling imagery from past projects.
Zooming in on a previous installation covered with wallpaper, the compositions are pulled from within an abstraction to create an infinite amount of new abstractions, each pulling different details within the overall scheme. This formula of producing new compositions has informed all of the newest paintings; the most recent paintings are painted on corrugated cardboard panels.
The Installation also features two woven tapestries, one which the artist refers to as a “dancing rug”. The “dancing rug” has a shamanic, ritualistic choreography inspired by the Andean region and produced in Lima, Peru. Made of dyed alpaca wool, these woven rugs are another version of the corrugated paintings composed of similar motifs and palettes. The “dancing rug” becomes the focal point of the presentation, suspended and spinning in different rotations, creating a wind-like effect in the center of the space.
Eli Sudbrack (Assume Vivid Astro Focus) provides an overview of his most recent presentation at Fredric Snitzer Gallery.
assume vivid astro focus was founded by Eli Sudbrack (b. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1968) in 2001. Sudbrack began working with Christophe Hamaide Pierson (b. Paris, 1973) in 2005 as a duo that often morphs into a collective, depending on the different projects they are involved in. avaf works in a vast array of media, including painting, drawing, installations, video, sculpture, neons, wallpaper, decals, and often confronts gender, politics, and embedded cultural codes through pop imagery and neon colors.
Personal expression and a lust for life are prominently emphasized in projects that are simultaneously rooted in politics of free speech, civil rights, classifications of class, gender and national identity. Infused by pop culture and political references, avaf is influenced by multiple sources and visual traits from art, culture, politics, sociology, fashion and music, creating stunning and visually explosive mash-ups of transformed and re-contextualized references. avaf operates with a hedonistic spirit, and engages in frequent collaborations with musicians, designers, dancers and other artists, challenging conventional assumptions about authorship and the role of the artist’s persona in society and the contemporary art world with their core beliefs as foundation: “share, generosity, contaminate, be contaminated, devour, be devoured, travel and spread”.
avaf has also been the subject of major exhibitions and public art projects around the world. These include Mario Testino Museum (MATE) Lima, Peru (2017); Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Santa Barbara, USA (2016); Sammlung Goetz, Munich, Germany (2016); Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, USA (2015); The Faena Art Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2014); Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), North Miami, USA (2013); The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway (2009); São Paulo Bienal, São Paulo, Brazil (2008); Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA (2008); Museum of Contemporary Art (MOT), Tokyo, Japan (2007); 1st Athens Biennale, Athens, Greece (2007); The Geffen Contemporary (MoCA), Los Angeles, USA (2005); The Whitney Biennial, New York, USA (2004); among others.