Solo Exhibition- Press Release- Divide and Consider

November 4- November 29, 2008

Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia

Opening Reception, First Friday, November 7th 6:00pm-8:30pm

Please join the Bridgette Mayer Gallery, as we are pleased to announce the solo show of Scottish painter, Dana Hargrove title Divide and Consider.

Hargrove’s new collection of work stems from a recent summer residency in South Africa. During her time there, Hargrove discovered the still present consequences of colonization, imperialism, and segregation. In her installations one can recognize the use of European and African motifs to address the idea of globalization through both popular culture and militaristic means. Ever present in Hargrove’s work, is her investigation between culture and nature, in Divide and Consider, she calls on the viewer to look into the two with her through various types of imagery.

Aside from her residencies and travels, Dana Hargrove is an Assistant Professor of Studio Art at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, and has various site specific installations in the United States and abroad.

Divide and Consider will run from November 4- November 29, 2008, with an opening reception, First Friday, November 7th from 6:00- 8:30p.m.

“Many of the works in this exhibition reference African/European motifs and strike a personal resonance for me. By isolating visual cues from within my experienced landscapes, such as local security fences and gates throughout Cape Town, I am able to signify the emotional and intellectual barriers or walls that are often consciously or subconsciously enhanced by our physical surroundings.” – Dana Hargrove

November 4- November 29, 2008

Opening Reception with the artist: Friday, November 7th from 6:00- 8:30pm

Philadelphia, PA – The Bridgette Mayer Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new works by Scottish artist Dana Hargrove titled “Divide and Consider.” The show will run from November 4- November 29, 2008 with an opening reception on First Friday, November 7th, 6:00-8:30pm.  Last summer Dana Hargrove travelled to South Africa and Tanzania to complete a residency at Greatmore Studios. Her new body of work explores her ongoing interest in globalization and militaristic issues, while discussing the colonization of South Africa.   Anna Brzyski, professor from the University of Kentucky writes, “Dana Hargrove’s works fit comfortably within this broadly international tendency, though her intelligent use of richly decorative forms does not stem from an impulse to follow the prevalent fashion. She does not use ornament for ornament’s sake. The evocative sensuality of color, details, and patterns that appear in the pieces such as “The Empire’s New Clothes,” “Broekie,” or “Spikes” is deceptive. The visual playfulness of these works has a definite edge. It evokes the specter of the colonial and apartheid past that haunts South Africa’s present.”

Bridgette Mayer Gallery 709 Walnut Street, 1st Floor Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106

T: 215-413-8893

F: 215-413-2283 E: [email protected]

www.bridgettemayergallery.com