ʻThe Future Is Not What It Used To Beʼ
A group exhibition curated by Mike Stilkey
Includes New Paintings by Aaron Smith
LeBasse Projects :: Culver City
October 8th – November 5th 2011
Artist reception: Saturday, October 8th, 6-9pm
Los Angeles, CA – LeBasse Projects is proud to announce, ʻThe Future Is Not What It Used To Be,ʼ a group exhibition curated by Mike Stilkey. Stilkey is one of the represented artists at LeBasse Projects and this exhibition is his first curatorial effort.
The title of the show was inspired by a quote from the French poet Paul Valery, “The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.” This idea resonated with Stilkey because the future seems to show as much promise as when we were young.
Stilkey suggests: “Our vision of the future is that society will evolve and progress and our situation will improve. As you get older you realize that these things often do not turn out the way you expected. I think this is especially relevant at this time, with global concerns and anxiety around climate change, economic and financial crises, environmental destruction, etc. When I was a kid, I thought that in 30 years I’d be flying around in a Jetson’s car, not worrying about global warming and widespread extinction of species.”
Artists invited to participate include: Kelsey Brookes, Brian Dettmer, Katrin Fridriks, Jim Houser, Dave Kinsey, Ryan McLennan, Cleon Peterson, Dena Schuckit, Aaron Smith, Tara Tucker, Mario Wagner and Mike Stilkey. Artists were selected because of the nature of their work and how it resonated with Stilkeyʼs own vision of the future. While the theme of the show is based on the poetic title, Stilkey has left artists open to interpreting the ideas entirely at their own direction.
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