exhibitions
Nicholas and Sheila Pye: Unspoiled
May 18th – June 22nd, 2013
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 18 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Curator's Office is pleased to present Unspoiled, a new exhibition of photographic works by celebrated Canadian collaborative team Nicholas & Sheila Pye. This will be the fourth exhibition of work by the Pyes at Curator's Office. Unspoiled includes four large dramatic photographs. This will be the last exhibition in the space at 1515 14th Street in Washington, DC as the gallery relocates, so it is appropriate to conclude a wonderful nine-year run in Logan Circle with work that explores the psychological intensity of transition.
Art historian and Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden Program Associate Jessica Beck writes, "The artists Nicolas and Sheila Pye have spent their careers exploring the trials and tribulations as well as tender moments of love. In both film and photography, they have explored broad themes of attachment, gender politics, the ego, and the unspoken wishes and desires that can plague relationships. In their new body of photographic work, the Pyes use nature to tell a different, more mature story of loss, the failings of memory, and the fragility of love. The stylized sets that they once employed in films have been traded in for the serene simplicity of nature. In dense forests and clear streams, themes of connection, loss, and memory are staged in sublimely blissful settings."
"While memory and loss are prominent themes in this new series, mutual respect emanates from these images. This series tells a tale of remembrance, esteem, homage and perhaps growth. In this forest of the past, there is perhaps the promise of a new and different future. These figures seem to be treading cautiously, but forward nonetheless."
Read full essay by Jessica Beck
ABOUT THE ARTISTSThe Pyes have exhibited their work at museums such as The Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC; The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain; Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, France; Incheon Women’s Biennial, Incheon, Korea; Kunsthallen Brænderigården, Denmark; Meet Factory, Prague, Czech Republic; San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA: Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, Canada; The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada; The Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Canada; and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Their work has been screened in numerous international film festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival, Canada; the Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland; and Les Rencontres Internationales in Paris, Berlin, and Madrid. Their work has also been exhibited internationally at numerous galleries including Curator's Office, Washington, DC; Birch Libralato Gallery, Toronto; Begoña Malone Gallery, Madrid; Art Mur, Montreal; Artcore / Fabrice Marcolini, Toronto; Alexia Goethe Gallery, London; Galerie Adler, Frankfurt; Caprice Horn Gallery, Berlin; Nettie Horn Gallery, London; RARE Gallery, New York; Angell Gallery, Toronto; and Kasia Kay Art Projects, Chicago.
Image above: Nicholas & Sheila Pye, Submerge, 2013, digital C-print, 40" x 60", edition of 5 + 2 AP