CT

Brett Cook-Dizney

Brett Cook-Dizney: Meditations Wednesday, April 20 through Sunday, May 22 Artist Talk: Tuesday, April 19 at 4:15 in Zilkha 106 Opening Reception: Wednesday, April 20, noon-1pm; Artist conversation at 12:15pm

MEDITATIONS

In terms both of process and product, all the work in this exhibition involves aspects of meditation to catalyze contemplation. Brett Cook-Dizney is perhaps best known for his Multifaceted series - self reflective, large-scale, shrine-like installations incorporating biographical materials as well as drawings, objects, words and photographs. Two of these, Documentation of a Grandma and Documentation of Blackness, are included in this exhibition. A third collaborative work, incorporating Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, was developed with the assistance of Zilkha curator Nina Felshin's undergraduate class, Issues in Contemporary Art. Guests at the opening also contributed to this new work, which models Freire's idea of Praxis - reflection and action.

Many of Brett's paintings, installations and drawings involve portraiture. These works, created in spray enamel, are inspired by graffiti but are vastly more complex. Using color theory and spray paint, he takes the medium of graffiti art and creates complex portraits that can easily be mistaken for brush painting. In addition to the recent post-modern history of graffiti, Brett also draws on the classic history of modernist painting and non-western creative practices to create his unique synthesis of diverse visual languages, histories, and cultures.

Brett's Models of Accountability series, which resulted from an ongoing study of avatars for social change, is represented in this exhibition by portraits on mirrors of César Chávez and Arundhati Roy. An assortment of their written words and published texts are accessible on mirrored shelves at the base of each piece. These works shift and refract their imagery as the viewer moves by them. In allowing the mirror to serve as a ground for these portraits, the artist invites the viewer to contemplate his/herself as an occupant of the same space as these advocates for social change - both literally and figuratively.

A series of spray enamel drawings on transparent acetate from the Images of Hip Hop series looks deeply at the origins of one of America's most popular cultural manifestations. Drawings from the Mindfulness series are also on display. Executed in a variety of scales and materials, they focus primarily on Buddhist concepts. These two series use figuration to reference specific historical, social, and spiritual traditions in order to re-contextualize the way popular images are viewed.

Along with his gallery work, Brett has engaged in numerous public projects, including a collaborative project in South Central Los Angeles addressing divinity and the Development/Gentrification Project with ten installations throughout Harlem. Brett's social collaborations typically depict people who live in the neighborhood, thereby bringing art to a wide audience that does not ordinarily visit museums and galleries. Using ethnographic and pedagogical strategies, the work always involves the participation of the subject. "It's about giving people a voice, empowering marginalized communities," explains the artist. This aspect of his work is represented by photo-documentation, videotapes, and painting on panels in Zilkha's South Gallery.

Brett Cook-Dizney received a B.A. in art from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. His Minor in education has played an important part in the development of his work and his frequently participatory process. He has exhibited in museums and galleries since 1991 while simultaneously engaging in public projects. His public projects, often ephemeral in nature, have been executed in the United States from California to Maine and internationally in Brazil, Barbados and Mexico. Some have been commissioned by museums or public agencies while others have been self-initiated interventions in abandoned spaces. Cook-Dizney has completed scores of these projects, often through an interactive and collaborative process. He has received a number of awards including residencies at Skowhegan School and the Studio Museum in Harlem, and he has been an active teacher and lecturer. He is represented in New York by PPOW Gallery.

This exhibition is curated by Nina Felshin and supported in part by the Office of Affirmative Action, Wesleyan University. Special thanks to the Yili Art Foundation, New York, for its generous support of the artist.