Road Work

Annette Rusin, Road Work September 8 – October 3, 2010 Reception: Friday, September 10th, 6 -8pm BROOKLYN, NY August 2010 – A.I.R. Gallery is pleased to announce Road Work, a site-specific installation by 2009-2010 A.I.R. Fellowship Artist Annette Rusin. The Opening Reception will be held on Friday, September 10th, from 6 to 8pm. Annette Rusin’s latest site-specific installation examines the never-ending human compulsion for grooming and “resurfacing”. “We are constantly covering something over on our bodies and in our physical environment,” Rusin explains, “with makeup, clothing, paint, or asphalt in the name of beautification and a display of perfection.” In Road Work, notions of beauty and nature collide with building materials in a multi-layered, wall-resurfacing project. Rusin begins by covering the gallery with false walls of sheetrock that form a skin. This skin will then be peeled back, pierced, pulled and penetrated. Rusin explains, “In my work I think about the ‘gaps’ where we can catch a glimpse of the mysteries and absurdities hidden below the surface.” Rusin combines intricate handmade components of string, hair, and beeswax with carved, folded, shifting drywall surfaces that hide and reveal, attract and repel. Like every construction project, Road Work will be ongoing; there will be intermittent activity throughout the month with special “pop-up” performances during the DUMBO Arts Festival September 24-26th. Annette Rusin is a Brooklyn based artist with a studio in DUMBO. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (Bachelor of Architecture) and Hunter College (MFA, Painting). She has been awarded residencies at MacDowell and Millay and is an Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts grant recipient. Twenty drawings from her Cosmetic Dreams Series were recently exhibited at the 2009 International Incheon Women Artists’ Biennale in Korea. For more information, visit Rusin’s website www.annetterusin.com. This is her first solo show in New York City.