Papo Colo: Assorted Times in Singular Spaces

The Clocktower Gallery presents Papo Colo: Assorted Times in Singular Spaces, an exhibition of works on paper and poetry by Papo Colo, presented in the Clocktower’s historic Upper Gallery. Exploring the composition of poetry as visual imagination, the selected drawings, collages, and poems from 1976 to the present reflect Colo’s interest in calligraphy, archaeology, and mysticism, and mark iconic moments in political and personal histories. “I do calligraphy because to invent a language is to create a new form of life. In this show, you can see how from the elements of calligraphy are born organic figures and populated structures” - Papo Colo. Colo’s artistic expression is primarily known through the seminal exhibitions, graphic identity, and institutional texts of Exit Art, the alternative space he co-founded in 1982 and ran until 2011 with his partner Jeanette Ingberman. Parallel to, and often entangled with this institutional role, Colo was always a prolific artist, working in drawing, painting, poetry, performance, and theater. Assorted Times in Singular Spaces presents four bodies of work: Franco Documents (1976), Post History Calligraphy (1978), Secret Documents (1979), and Protos (2012), and a book of poetry. Colo resists interpretation through the lens of cultural identity. Rather, he embraces purist, cerebral and emotional approaches to art making, guided primarily by impulse and passion, be it of a physical, intellectual, or spiritual nature. Assorted Times in Singular Spaces explores personal time, institutional time, and political time. It examines past and present identities, life-altering events, discipline, ritual, and alchemy.

New Exhibitions Opening Reception

Two major exhibits launch our gallery shows for 2013 including one in the newly restored upper Clocktower Gallery. Opening reception held Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at 6 pm. A confirmed RSVP is required to events@artonair.org. Capacity is limited. In the Upper Gallery: Papo Colo: Assorted Times in Singular Spaces, featuring works on paper and poems from 1976 to the present, and reflecting the artist's interest in calligraphy, archaeology, and mysticism. Papo Colo is a multi-dimensional poet and concept artist, curator, and co-founder of the cultural center Exit Art. Curated by Beatrice Johnson. In the Main Gallery: Dark Paradise, works in a variety of media by prominent and emerging artists illustrating discourse and story telling through the canon of landscape imagery. Including pieces by Antony, Zipora Fried, Nancy Holt, Joan Jonas, Thiago Rocha Pitta, and Patti Smith. Curated by Tim Goossens.