The
Renaissance
Society

An exhibition featuring selected works by graduates of the California Institute of the Arts. Since its inception in the late 1960"s, the California Institute of the Arts has emerged as a highly progressive and influential force for the arts, both nationally and internationally. This exhibition will explore the impact of CalArts through the presentation of selected works by its graduates. The exhibition's roster includes many familiar names ? Eric Fischl, Davis Salle, Jack Goldstein, Matt Mullican, Ross Bleckner and Troy Brauntuch are a few of the best known ? but also includes many artists who have never been shown in the Midwest.

Fifty-four graduates of CalArts are represented by works in a variety of media. Six films and seventeen video works will be screened as part of the exhibition, and works by thirty-eight artists will be housed in our gallery. Three artists are contributing installations to the exhibition: we have a room with Jim Isermann's furniture and paintings that emulate flower motifs from the fifties; an installation by Mark Stahl, who is well known in New York for his arrangements of fake boulders and bathroom fixtures; and a room of photographs by Mitchell Syrop that is cooled to the specified viewing temperature by a specially installed air conditioner.

Los Angeles artists Stephen Prina has designed the installation of the exhibition. He has based his floorplan for the gallery on the configuration of the booths at the Chicago International Art Expo that opens concurrently at Navy Pier. By deliberately entering into a dialogue with Art Expo, the installation of our exhibition will make the viewer more aware of the differences between art fairs and traditional galleries as viewing situations. This kind of questioning typifies the spirit of the works in this exhibition, many of which explore an ambivalent relationship to their own provocative practice and reflect the paradox of the show's title by continually questioning themselves.