In our first collaboration with The Bennington Museum, 571 Projects is pleased to announce, Out of This World, an exhibition curated by Sophie Bréchu-West, of new and recent work by visual artist Sally Gil. Though her work has been widely exhibited, this show marks Gil's first exhibition in her native Vermont. In addition to a traditional hang of her work, the gallery space at The Bennington Museum lent itself to a site specific installation, created by the artist directly on the walls with her signature blend of collage and painted elements, creating a horizon line and playfully incorporating the architectural quirks and characteristics.
Sally Gil's technicolor utopias draw the viewer into complex worlds where iconic fragments taken from a variety of found print materials (discarded encyclopedias, seed catalogues, post cards) form new narratives with ephemera from daily life (tea wrappers, paper from florists, doilies). Her stream of consciousness sweeps us up with effervescent energy. Seen from afar, there is a sense of the cosmos, the Big Bang, star dust. Close up, thoughtfully juxtaposed elements create alternate stories. Choosing to paint over, embellish, or riff off these elements, she fully appropriates and transforms the found imagery.
Gil's process is meticulous, using visual and word association to construct possible alternate worlds. At times a kind of nostalgia bubbles to the surface, and while the works are not intended as autobiographical documents, each holds the indelible marks of the maker and the those things that hold meaning for her. In Indigenous Mass (2012-2014, collage, acrylic, casein, and house paint on paper, 42 x 48 in.), the image of a Morgan horse, at the center of the work, stands under a blueberry sky - the state animal of Vermont and a berry which many will associate with New England summers. Each fragment holds a wealth of signifiers. Personal and universal, Sally Gil's work is generous: it allows each viewer a way in.
Brooklyn-based visual artist Sally Gil was born and raised in Bennington, Vermont. She received her Bachelor of Arts at UC San Diego and her Masters of Fine Arts at Hunter College, CUNY. She has had solo exhibitions at Geary Contemporary, NYC; 571 Projects, NYC; University of North Carolina, Charlotte; and Dean Bergen Gallery, Brooklyn. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at The Brooklyn Museum; The Rotunda Gallery. Brooklyn; and White Columns, NYC, among other venues. The artist was a Fellow at Apexart (2013) to São Paolo, Brazil and a Visiting Artist at The University of North Carolina, Charlotte (2010) and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (2001). Her work is included in the US State Department's Arts in Embassies program, in Brazzaville, Congo (2014-2016).
For more information email: Sophie@571Projects.com, www.571Projects.com
