SAN ANTONIO, TX.- Cinema, the subtleties of its components and its history form the core of Hubbard/Birchlers artistic work. The Hubbard/Birchler exhibition features two video installations, including the world premiere of Eighteen and a selection of other video and photographic work, including Eight.
"Since its 2002 debut presented by Artpace, Eight has been included in numerous pivotal exhibitions around the world and has become one of the most recognized narrative loops in video art. Linda Pace immediately acquired an edition for her collection and counted Eight among her favorite video works," says Maura Reilly, executive director of the
Linda Pace Foundation. "So when the opportunity to support the creation of Eighteen was presented, there was no hesitation. The premiere of Eighteen also is symbolic as it coincides with the 10th Anniversary of the Linda Pace Foundation."
Curated by Artpace Director, Kathryn Kanjo, Eight revolves around the birthday of an eight-year-old girl staring out a window into a thunderous rainy night. As she moves outside and back in, time and space are blurred as boundaries, and as the video loops, it is unclear which scene comes first.
Almost a decade later, Hubbard/Birchler began searching for the actor they had cast in Eight. They found her in Boston, where she has grown up to become a dancer. Thus began the project, Eighteen.
Eighteen picks up on the same character in a scene of her eighteenth birthday party. As in the work Eight, Hubbard/Birchler have developed a narrative perspective that is unsettled and does not come to closure. As the protagonist journeys from one place to another, linear time, fact and fiction, and the solidity of physical shelter constantly slip around her. Steady, uninterrupted camera movements straddle constructed and actual locations, inside and outside, rain and sunshine, day and night, summer and winter.
Eighteen incorporates three musical compositions, arranged and performed on guitar: the Gymnopédies by Erik Satie. Written for piano in 1888, these movements share a common structure and collectively are regarded as an important precursor to modern ambient music.
The exhibition is on view by appointment only at The Linda Pace Foundation, San Antonio, Texas, October 12, 2013 through March 29, 2014. To schedule a viewing email visit@pacefound.org, or write to: Visitor Services, Linda Pace Foundation, P.O. Box 830607, San Antonio, Texas 78283. In conjunction with Eight, Eighteen, Anne Ellegood, Senior Curator, Hammer Museum, UCLA, and the artists will discuss aspects of the exhibition in a public talk on a date and location to be announced.
Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler
Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler work in expanded fields of video and photography. Their exhibition project history includes the Venice Biennial; the Tate Museum Liverpool; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; National Portrait Gallery London; Hamburger Bahnhof-Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Reina Sofia Museum Madrid; Kunsthaus Graz and the Mori Museum Tokyo. Hubbard / Birchler's work is held in numerous public collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D. C.; Kunsthaus Zurich; Modern Art Museum Fort Worth; Museum of Fine Arts Houston and Kunstmuseum / Museum für Gegenwartskunst Basel. The artists would like to gratefully acknowledge Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Lora Reynolds Gallery, Austin for their support of this exhibition.