Partial Shade and Co-Lab Projects Presents: A Pit Fire
November 16th, 17th, 23rd, and 24th, 2019

11.16  Loading and lighting the pits; 12-6pm
11.17  Excavating the objects; 12-6pm
11.23 + 24  Exhibition featuring ceramic objects fired the previous weekend; 12-6pm
Each portion of this process is open to the public

Partial Shade and Co-Lab Projects present an exhibition in two parts in conjunction with The East Austin Studio Tour. The first weekend will consist of a pit fire, followed by an exhibition of the resulting ceramic objects the second weekend. Creating a parallel to Partial Shade’s larger curatorial practice, the objects on view will embody the unpredictability and chance inherent to working in an outdoor space. The contents of the fire dictate the surface color and texture of the objects. The methods for creating different surfaces reframe domestic materiality as a series of chemical actions/reactions, compounds, and sensitivities. Vapors from burning sawdust, manure, copper, newsprint, compost etc enter the open pores of the objects, resulting in a pattern shaped by context and environment— residual evidence of contact.  

Featuring: 
Sterling Allen, Jesse Cline, Ryan Crowley, Alex Diamond, Connor Frew, Ron Geibel, Ryan Hawk, Merideth Hillbrand, Annie May Johnson, Zoe Koke, Ling-Lin Ku, Emily Lee, Gabo Martini, Bucky Miller, Rebecca Milton, Virginia Lee Montgomery, Michael Muelhaupt, Scott Proctor, Tammie Rubin, Henry Smith, Rachael Starbuck, Shanie Tomassini, Ariel Wood

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A Platform is a series of events and art installations organized by Partial Shade and Co-Lab Projects, centered around a physical platform built on an empty lot in East Austin. A Platform will provide a literal and conceptual space for emerging artists to share work and experiences and will provide artists and visitors an opportunity to experiment with new modes of relating to each other and their surroundings. 

The structure for A Platform takes the form of a ramp gradually rising to a flat platform 2ft off the ground; this incline makes the platform more accessible to viewers and acts to undermine the established hierarchical relationship between performer and audience. This blurring of boundaries by an unusual, structural site from which to make and view art will encourage all involved to renegotiate their relationship with the physical and social space they are navigating.

PARTIAL SHADE is a nomadic curatorial project focused on organizing visual art exhibitions in non-traditional spaces, with work that is responsive to, considerate of, and affected by its environment. Untethered to one specific piece of real estate, Partial Shade operates as a model for a sustainable, alternative exhibition platform, and offers artists the opportunity to experiment with work that wouldn’t otherwise fit comfortably in a conventional gallery space.

Partial Shade is organized by Rachael Starbuck, Michael Muelhaupt, and Jesse Cline.
partialshade.info

This project is sponsored in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts.