Simultaneous: Seripop + Sonnenzimmer

Curated by Julia V. Hendrickson

The Center for Book & Paper Arts
Columbia College Chicago
1104 South Wabash, Floor 2
Chicago, Illinois 60605
T / 312-369-6630
colum.edu/bookandpaper

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Starting from similar places of reference—as screen printers who force ink on to paper through a finely-woven mesh—the Chicago-based duo Sonnenzimmer (Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi) and the Montréal-based duo Seripop (Yannick Desranleau and Chloe Lum) have independently developed bodies of work wherein they investigate, as printmakers, the relationship between the materials of fabric and paper. Sonnenzimmer translates their own peaceful, complex language of abstract design on to new surfaces, imbuing linen and canvas with vibrant systems of overlaid shapes. Seripop’s monumental screen printed paper installations subvert expectations of the possibilities inherent in a single material.

Whereas Sonnenzimmer typically investigates fabric as if it were a kind of paper (shaping, painting, and printing on it as a wall-hanging or floor piece), Seripop often creates large-scale installations that utilize paper as if it were fabric (draping and folding massive sheets with a casualness that belies the fragility of the medium). The same thought process exists—to treat one material as if it were another—but with opposite and wildly varying results.

Simultaneous will consist of dual large-scale installations in the Center for Book and Paper Arts galleries. Creating the work separately in their respective cities, but in rich dialogue with each other, Simultaneous will include a range of printed paper and fabric works, including textiles, wall-hangings, paper sculptures, posters, as well as audio elements.

Simultaneous is curated by Julia V. Hendrickson, an independent curator, editor, and writer who lives in Austin, Texas. A limited-edition screen printed poster as well as a full-color, 40-page catalog (with essays by Julia V. Hendrickson and Lauren Weinberg) will accompany the exhibition.

Support provided in part by the Canada Council for the Arts; the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago; the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec; the Illinois Arts Council; the Québec Government Office in Chicago; and Skyline Design, Chicago.

Simultaneous / Bios

About Seripop (Yannick Desranleau & Chloe Lum)

Yannick Desranleau and Chloe Lum live and work in Montréal. In their installations, sculptures, prints and other interventions, they explore how material entropy affects the readings of a given work, through the implementation of strategies displaying diverse forms of mechanical contingency. They have exhibited in Canada and abroad, notably at Confederation Centre Art Gallery (Charlottetown, 2014), YYZ artists’ outlet (Toronto, 2013), The Blackwood Gallery (University of Toronto, 2012), Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal (Québec Triennial, 2011), Kunsthalle Wien (Vienna, Austria, 2010), BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (Gateshead, England, 2009), and Whitechapel Project Space (London, England, 2007). Their collaborative work is in many private and public collections, notably the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

www.seripop.com

About Sonnenzimmer (Nick Butcher & Nadine Nakanishi)

Sonnenzimmer is the Chicago-based studio of Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi. Their practice merges fine art, printmaking, graphic design, sound art, and publishing. Their work is rooted in investigation of idiosyncratic imagery, systems, and material. This is explored through many lenses—collaborative, experimental, and commercial in nature. Their work has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and in the Art Institute of Chicago, and it can be found in collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Design and Architecture Department; the Museum of Design Zürich, Plakatraum; and the University of Maryland, The Art Gallery. Sonnenzimmer’s artist’s books are also at home in such collections as the Stanford Art and Architecture Library and Vanderbilt University.

www.sonnenzimmer.com

About the Curator (Julia V. Hendrickson)

Julia V. Hendrickson, a native of East Liverpool, Ohio, is a freelance curator, editor, and writer. An art critic for Printeresting and Art In Print, she completed an MA in the History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art (London, 2012). She has written extensively on aspects of printmaking and print culture. Previously she served as the registrar and publications director at the Chicago gallery Corbett vs. Dempsey. Currently she lives in Austin, TX where she works as the Registrar at The Contemporary Austin. With Anthony Creeden, she also co-directs Permanent.Collection, an experimental exhibition space.

www.juliavhendrickson.com

About the Catalog Contributor (Lauren Weinberg)

Lauren Weinberg is a freelance writer and editor in Waterloo, Ontario. She previously worked as an editor at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and spent six years as the Art & Design Editor of Time Out Chicago magazine. Lauren has also written articles and reviews for ARTnews, The Architect’s Newspaper, and the AIGA. She holds an MA in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from Parsons/Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York).

@LDWeinberg

About the Space

The Center for Book & Paper Arts (CBPA) is affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Arts Department within the School of Media Arts at Columbia College Chicago. The CBPA is one of the largest and most comprehensive book art facilities in the world. The CBPA is dedicated to furthering knowledge and appreciation of book art, including letterpress & offset printing, bookbinding, papermaking, and artists’ books. The CBPA works to preserve historical techniques while promoting research and innovations in the media of book and paper arts.

Official Website

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Tags: photography, printmaking, screen print, sculpture, Seripop, Sonnenzimmer, South Loop