Surrender
Multiple media participatory installation
Jason Asselin
2007

Jason Asselin offers his new installation, Surrender, designed for the free public distribution of D.I.Y surrender kits. These kits are used for the formal surrender of good and bad intentions, habits, activities, and feelings. Asselin has been making artwork in Massachusetts for ten years and is originally from the modest textile mill town of Dudley, MA. Asselin received his BFA from Montserrat College of Art in 2001 and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2005. He has concentrated his intentions towards interactive work in a variety of media including wood, film, video, and traditional printmaking.

A disco ball in the woods
Single channel looping video, 4:10
Adam Ekberg
Courtesy Thomas Robertello Gallery
2006

Bubbles come to rest on the grass
Single channel looping video, 9:35
Adam Ekberg
Courtesy Thomas Robertello Gallery
2006

Adam Ekberg communicates the profound in the everyday in his two video works, A Disco Ball in the Woods and Bubbles Come to Rest on the Grass. These works come to Worcester courtesy of the Thomas Robertello Gallery in Chicago, who state: "Adam's imparted artistic ideals imbue each image with a gentle understanding that allows the viewer to experience the extraordinary in the ordinary, elevating perception and wisdom with the selflessness of an evolved yogi or spiritual being. His video is mesmerizing and meditative, ultra-hip and timeless." Ekberg received an WA in photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2006. His work has been exhibited in Chicago at the Contemporary Art Workshop, Bridge Art Fair, Fifty/50 Gallery, and Gallery 2 among other venues. Ekberg's work is presented courtesy of the Thomas Robertello Gallery, Chicago.

Gentle Intervention
Acrylic and oil on panel
Don Hartmann
Courtesy MPG Contemporary
2007

Burnt Toast
Acrylic and oil on panel
Don Hartmann
Courtesy MPG Contemporary
2007

New Budds
Acrylic and oil on panel
Don Hartmann
Courtesy MPG Contemporary
2007

Don Hartmann exhibits three of his obtuse but enticing portrait paintings. "Most are shot when the subjects are taking part in activities I would consider 'recreational', low lights, a few too many drinks. I tend to.. . create a different narrative. There are usually gross distortions and the end results are guttural and life affirming." Hartmann lives and works in Worcester, MA. Hartmann's work is presented courtesy of MPG Contemporary, Boston.

Master of Wonders II
Three part single channel looping video
Piotr Parda

2007

Piotr Parda explores the probability of a miracle in his video series Master of Wonders II. "While the first part of my project is a documentation of suspended in time hopeful (or hopeless) attempts to bend a metal spoon with the power of mind, the second part is merely a playful extraction of the so-called perfect moments." Parda, born and raised in Poland, is currently a resident of Boston. He has exhibited at the New Museum of Art in NY, the Echo Park film Center in LA, and in numerous locations around Europe.

Wood construction #151
Acrylic on wood

Wood construction #152
Acrylic on wood

Wood construction #153
Acrylic on wood
James Tellin
Courtesy Howard Yezerski Gallery
2004

James Tellin presents three works from his wood construction series, #151, #152 and #153. "Each of these sculptures incorporates parts from a real table. But these new 'tables' are nonfunctional, nothing will ever sit upon them," says James on their form. Yet they remain toys, ". . . playful, mounted on casters [to create] movement." The wood surfaces and ability to move encourage touching and interaction." Tellin received his BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1956 and his MFA from the State University of Iowa in 1958. He moved to Worcester MA in the early 1960's, and has been a prolific artist. Tellin's work is presented courtesy of the Howard Yezerski Gallery, Boston.

Magic City Repairs
Multiple media participatory installation
Jean Cozzens & Andrew Oesch
2007

Jean Cozzens & Andrew Oesch together continue their participatory installation series, Magic City Repairs. "Can you imagine a room filled with mountains of paper, each sheet screenprinted with detailed architectural elements? What would you do with these things, cut them up and glue them together? Like several hundred miniature barn raisings, we will end up with lots and lots of paper scraps and a city that none of us could have individually imagined before." Jean Cozzens is a poster maker, silkscreen printer, and architect living and working in Providence, RI. Andrew Oesch, also a resident of Providence, has worked with numerous art collectives including TapeArt. Both find relevance in patterns for living spaces that are built around human experiences, focusing on the demands and subtleties of inhabitation, rather than stylistic concerns or grand architectural statements.

Monkeying about with Materials
Packing foam
Lisa Lunskaya Gordon
2007

Lisa Lunskaya Gordon presents her mammoth installation, Monkeying about with Materials, involving the process of freeing an unconventional art-making material, such as packing foam, from its utilitarian purpose. By pushing the foam's structural, transformative and aesthetic potential, innovative sculptural installations can be created. "With this exercise, I allow myself the use of tools, but only a single material can be used in each design." Lisa Lunskaya Gordon is a Boston area artist and curator who teaches mixed media at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Welcome to PlayTime, an exhibition highlighting the importance of play in the creative process.

The work of artists is largely seen as a fait accompli; finished, polished products presented for public consumption. However, far less attention has been paid to the staging ground where artists freely "mess around" with their familiar tools and materials. During this period of curious exploration, great artistic discoveries are made. Creative play is at the core of all artistic endeavors and is the source from which many artists ultimately find their unique style and voice.

Within PlayTime you will find items created by artists during their own process of creative play as well as items designed to ask you, the viewer, to consider the psychology and significance of playfulness. You will also find three installations by artists inviting personal exploration through interactive participation. These participatory projects have additional importance for their community building aspects, allowing us to realize the creative process can be more than a solo venture.

I hope you enjoy PlayTime and feel inspired to explore your own creativity.

Kirk Jalbert, Curator

Obsolete and Extinct
Cassette tapes and players
Dennis Svoronos
2006-7

Bargain Hunter
Mixed media
Dennis Svoronos
2007

Dennis Svoronos plays with the remnants of our industrial society. From piles of obsolete technology, he recreates extinct and endangered species of animals. "I see these two subjects as linked, both owing their downfall to the ever changing whims of our culture. I seek to reanimate these things we've forgotten in an effort to help us appreciate what we still have." These tinkered objects show the potential secondary meaning materials may have. A resident of Boston's Fort Port community, Dennis is also a fabrication consultant for many regional artists.

You can build all the worlds you want, but the best security can't be observed.

You are committed to accept risks.