Friday, March 25, 2011

March Exhibition: Urban Eden


BEVERLY, March 11, 2011- Montserrat College of Art Galleries
is pleased to present Kim Salerno’s installation Urban
Eden,curated by Lydia Gordon. The current exhibition in
Montserrat College of Art’s alternative display space Frame 301,
Urban Eden reveals a vivid textured world of digital imagery,
wall patterning,and three-dimensional structures. Through the
useof rich,decorative elements, Salerno’s installation draws in
the attention of the viewers by arranging drawing, photography,
and digital media to form an intricate landscape.
  
Salerno’s installation transforms the narrow space of Frame 301
into an urban garden. Digital prints of landscapes and gardens
are cut, hung and layered alternately with transparent scrims
and curtains, and expand beyond the picture plane to create a
highly interactive window space. At first glance, the garden
appears as a collage of idyllic flowers and scenery, beautifully
nestled with embellished textiles and patterns. However, as
nature is depicted through digital media, the awry placement
of Urban Eden’s multiple forms begins to prompt a sense of
nervous break down and eventual decay. As these layered
materials create complex textual meaning within
the installation, utopian and dystopian visions collide
as the piece is confronted with human activity from the street.

Kim Salerno’s creative work began with architecture, which
continues to serve as inspiration for her more recent digital 
and installation projects. Her work has been exhibited
throughout the United States in galleries, museums, and
other public venues. The artist is a recipient of the
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and the Visual Arts Sea
Grant from the University of Rhode Island. She earned
her Masters of Architecture from the University of
Pennsylvania, holds a certificate in Painting from the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a BA
from Smith College. Kim Salerno currently teaches
at the University of Rhode Island.

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