Press Release February 15, 2007

Newark, NJ: Red Saw is pleased to present SHAME. The exhibition will be on view March 9^th through March 29^th 2007. An opening reception will be held on Friday March 9^th from 6-9pm. The gallery is open on Thursday 6-9pm, Saturday 11-4pm and be appointment.

We recognize shame as the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, unworthy, improper or ridiculous done by (or to) ourselves or others. This feeling exerts a powerful hold on us. It directs us to hide our eyes, lower our gazes, cover our faces, run away. Often too painful, too embarrassing to even acknowledge, we go to great lengths to cover it up or avoid it altogether. Shame is easily felt, but reluctantly discussed.

These artists are not afraid of shame. They look shame squarely in the eye, talk to it, wrestle with it, and ultimately harness its power as a creative force. Presenting public and private aspects of shame, this exhibition examines how personal shame affects the way we see ourselves and how it colors the faces we present to the world. Often unsettling, these works get under our skin, and make us feel uncomfortable in all too familiar ways. That is what makes them so compelling.

Brendan Carroll reconfigures the bedroom dresser as a repository of hidden, shameful secrets. The viewer who rifles through the drawers not only discovers evidence of the artist’s shame, but also becomes a willing participant in a shameful act—invading the privacy of another.

Evonne Davis wonders where in the body emotions like shame are located. Over a blowup of her own fingerprint, she superimposes a layer of text recounting events, feelings and ideas from her personal experience. The often painful narrative is embedded within the whorls of the fingerprint, like strands of DNA—identifiable and permanent.

Cammi Climaco’s installation, Second Prize, recreates an office cubicle as a setting for mediocrity. A PowerPoint presentation plays on a computer monitor, tempting the viewer with suggestions of questionable activities. The work subtly references the shame of being second-best, of not measuring up, of being stuck in a dead-end job.

Kent Rogowsky and Caitlin Atkinson each illustrate moments of potential shame. Rogowsky’s snow globes encapsulate what he calls "the overlooked and undesirable moments in life." Merely suggestive, they leave the narrative and meaning up to the viewer. Atkinson’s photographs re-enact embarrassing, awkward or painful events from her own experience. Humorous and poignant at the same time, these Chapters tell a uniquely human story. Viewers identify with her discomfort, recognizing how isolated and vulnerable shame makes us feel.

Mining her own experience, Yukiko Nakashima excavates similar feelings of isolation and vulnerability. The figures in her paintings, (all self-portraits) wish to hide their vulnerability, but they stand apart, almost distorted by their isolation. The shame of being different, of not fitting in, of drawing negative attention colors these hauntingly beautiful paintings.

Donna Bassin’s pinhole photographs of dolls and dollhouses explore ideas about childhood, memories and loss. Her interactive installation, Cornered directs the viewer to crouch on a small stool, facing into the corner, assuming a position associated with childhood shame and punishment. Two small lightboxes hung low on the walls present a series of slides that create a narrative of memory, evoking hidden feelings of shame.

In a mixed media wall installation, Haeri Yoo presents a disjointed narrative of characters and relationships. Incorporating bold, gestural marks and delicate, refined lines, she creates a palpable tension between dark and light emotions, violence and playfulness, shame hidden and revealed.

To make Lunch Line Hiroshi Kumagai fabricated stickers and attached them onto a salvaged chair. In the work, two parents stand in a posture of shame, with bags over their heads, blind to the passing parade of headless schoolchildren. Below, an arrangement of blood-stained brown paper bags hints at the idea that the missing heads could be in these bags. The piece also subtly references the defacement of furniture commonly perpetrated by schoolchildren.