ALISHA KERLIN: P3STUDIO
Press Release
ALISHA KERLIN
MARKING TERRITORY
December 11, 2013 – January 19, 2014
Hours: Wednesday – Sunday | 6 – 11PM
Closing Reception: Thursday, January 16 | 6 – 8PM
P3Studio
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
3708 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in partnership with Art Production Fund is pleased to announce Marking Territory, presented by artist-in-residence Alisha Kerlin, where guests are invited to become inhabitants of the nocturnal zoo habitat and contribute to the mark-making process required to sculpt and paint the landscape and costumes.
Guests may choose to participate in the artist’s habitat in the following ways:
"The Voyeur": passive window watchers exchange glances with the artist through the glass on the other side, as if studying a creature in a terrarium.
"The Curious Cat": guests enter the space and actively watch the artist creating her habitat without actually touching any artwork.
"The Tactile Participant": ambitious mark-makers wearing gloves leave behind their essence by manipulating the cement surface to their liking. Guests will draw and create texture in the cement with gloves. This texture will form the surface of the landscape.
"The Illusionist": guests create the illusion of the faux landscape with brushes, spray bottles, sponges, phosphorescent, glitter and natural tones.
"The Shape Shifters": As the habitat takes form, the voyeurs evolve to become the nocturnal creatures they are meant to be. Materials for costumes will be available.
Kerlin’s work shuffles assumed relationships between the artist, artwork and viewer and includes a wide variety of media including painting, sculpture, digital photography, writing and installation. Her paintings often feature solitary-hovering subjects that are outwardly oriented where the anticipated meaning of the work hinges on the presence of the viewer or participant. One’s perception of Marking Territory is influenced by their relative position, whether they enter the terrarium boundary or remain outside the P3Studio windows. As Kerlin’s paintings suggest, her practice is both solitary and extroverted.
Alisha Kerlin received her BFA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and MFA from the Milton Avery School of Art, Bard College, New York. Kerlin recently moved to Las Vegas from New York City to teach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as the Artist in Residence in Spring 2012. Since 2005 her work has been exhibited throughout the United States, including solo shows in New York, Brooklyn, Long Island City, San Francisco, Boston and Knoxville. Her work has been included in numerous group shows including “Greater New York” at PS1 MoMA, 2010. Interviews and reviews of Kerlin’s work can be found in publications such as Spike, Art Forum, New York Arts Magazine and Art21.
The artist-in-residence program at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas represents one component of its larger art program, in which artists create projects that are interactive and participatory, giving guests the opportunity to connect at an authentic and personal level. Developed and curated in partnership with Art Production Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to producing ambitious public art projects, it strives to reach new audiences and expand awareness through contemporary art.
