Exhibitions

Gerard Byrne

September 26 to November 4, 2007

Exhibition curated by Cate Rimmer
Opening Reception: Tuesday September 25, 2007 at 7:30pm

The Charles H. Scott Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of the work of Irish artist, Gerard Byrne. The exhibition will focus on two major projects in which Byrne uses interviews published in mainstream magazines from the 1960s as source material, translating the texts into performances that form the basis of his video installations. Byrne is currently representing Ireland at this year’s Venice Biennale. The exhibition at the Charles H. Scott is Byrne’s first exhibition in Canada.

Byrne’s three-channel video work 1984 and Beyond, is a “re-enactment” of a discussion published in the July and August 1963 issues of Playboy magazine in which well-known science fiction writers, including Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury, discuss a wide range of issues collectively speculating about the future world of 19840.

For the second work in the show, *ZAN-T185 r.1: (Interview) v. 1, no.4 - v.2, no.6, 19 (1969 - Feb. 1972); (Andy Warhol's (Interview) v. 2, no.21 - v. 3, no. 9. Byrne re-creates interviews from Andy Warhol's Interview magazine with minor celebrities such as Dina Merrill and Sacheen Littlefeather, the young woman famous for speaking for Marlon Brando at the Academy Awards. In both works in the exhibition Byrne plays with the conventions of narrative film while addressing the ways that popular culture has informed historical memory.

Byrne’s recent solo exhibitions include the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Dusseldorf, the Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo, Ireland, and the Lisson Gallery, London. Concurrent with his exhibition at the Charles H. Scott Gallery, Byrne will be exhibiting work at Vancouver’s Tracey Lawrence Gallery.

The exhibition is accompanied by, The Present Tense Through the Ages:On the Recent Work of Gerard Byrne, a catalogue published on the occasion of the opening of the Venice Biennale and co-produced by the Charles H. Scott Gallery. The publication includes essays by Mark Godfrey, Catherine Wood, and Lytle Shaw.

Gerard Byrne, production still from 1984 and Beyond,
2005 to 2007.

Gerard Byrne, (Working Title) *ZAN-T185 r.1: (Interview) v. 1, no. 4 - v. 2, no. 6, 19 (1969 - Feb. 1972); (Andy Warhol's (Interview) v. 2, no. 21 - v. 3, no. 9, single channel video installation, 2007. Photo: Scott Massey.

Gerard Byrne, 1984 and Beyond, 2005 to 2007. 3 channel video installation. 20 b/w photos, dimensions variable. Photo: Scott Massey.

Gerard Byrne, 1984 and Beyond, 2005 to 2007. 3 channel video installation. 20 b/w photos, dimensions variable. Photo: Scott Massey.