Exhibition: You Were Always there with Us, MFA Thesis Show at Bas Fisher Invitational

KATHLEEN HUDSPETH

You Were Always there with Us

June 13 – July 11 August 8, 2009

Opening reception: June 13, 7 – 10 PM

Closing reception: July 11 August 8, 7 – 10 PM

BFI is pleased to present the first solo show of works by Kathleen Hudspeth. You Were Always there with Us is an exhibition of drawings and prints which addresses the seemingly contradictory ideas of oppression and inclusion. The works use a language of visual symbology to refer to dominant and marginalized groups within the context of both art history and impossible situations. Knives, bouquets, logs, flies and drips stand for actions, people and systems simultaneously. The work is made from a feminist perspective, and re-imagines the narrative of the white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy at an individual, intimate scale.

The culture of printmaking is an important influence on the works in this exhibition. Though many of the works are prints, none is part of an identical edition; Hudspeth exploits the possibilities of the multiple in such a way as to rephrase and reframe visual statements in order to better build an internal language of meaning. Engraving, lithography, mezzotint, etching and silkscreen are used together with collage to both evoke and undermine art-historical traditions. Methods are combined, artifacts from the printmaking process, such as pin and registration holes, remain in the works, the contemporary photo-litho technique is used to reproduce hand-drawn imagery—intentionally without the assistance of digital processes, and media which are static and sticky are used to depict fluid, painterly marks.

Kathleen Hudspeth is a Miami native with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin and soon to receive a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Miami in Printmaking. You Were Always there with Us is her Master’s thesis exhibition. Her work has been in numerous local and national venues, including the Fredric Snitzer Gallery, the Bass Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Washington, D.C. Her critical writings have been published in Art Papers, The Sun Post, and her (now defunct) blog, The Next Few Hours. She has been a visiting critic and lecturer at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, and a volunteer docent for 8 years at the Miami Art Museum. Recently, she was selected as one of 45 finalists for the Knight Foundation Arts Challenge for her idea to start a community print shop.

The BFI is an artist-run alternative space located in the Buena Vista Building in Miami’s Design District. It was founded in July 2004 by artists Hernan Bas and Naomi Fisher. The space is currently run by Naomi Fisher, Jim Drain, Kathryn Marks and Agatha Wara. Bas Fisher Invitational is open from 7 – 10 PM during events or by appointment.

Bas Fisher Invitational/180 NE 39 ST, Suite 210/Miami, FL

basfisherinvitational.com info@basfisherinvitational

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