MAEP: Jonathan Kaiser and Carolyn Swiszcz

MAEP_Swiszcz_Still1_2014January 5, 2015—This January, the Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program (MAEP) at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) debuts two new exhibitions by Minnesota artists: Jonathan Kaiser’s immersive sound installation “Inverse Echo” and Carolyn Swiszcz’s amusingly eerie “Inventory.” The pair of exhibitions will be on view at the MIA January 15 through March 29, 2015.

Jonathan Kaiser presents an engaging sonic experience with “Inverse Echo,” a sculptural sound installation containing a quartet of custom-made vinyl records on continuous repeat. The artist, who is interested in the tension between circular and linear time, uses looped records to explore the interconnection between past, present, and future. By varying the playback speed of the different LPs, he creates a perpetually shifting four-channel composition, evolving even as it repeats. The sound piece will change over time as needle friction from hours of playback takes its toll on the vinyl. The gradually decaying sound of the looping records will be recorded, creating an ongoing document of the exhibition. The sculptural and spatial elements of the installation address related themes of symmetry, repetition, and decay.
Kaiser is also an internationally recognized musician who spent four years as the cellist with the band Dark Dark Dark. His recent projects include a one-person exhibition, “Blind Arcade,” at the Rochester Art Center, as well as musical collaborations with Rajjjar Septet and Aby Wolf. He received an MFA from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and a BA from Macalester College, Saint Paul.

In “Inventory,” Carolyn Swiszcz’s paintings and linoleum prints of unpopulated streets put a humorous and sometimes eerie complexion on dozens of familiar St. Paul landmarks. The three new short videos in the exhibition, which include actors, puppets and diegetic voices, are also rendered in her distinctive style. A church and grocery store are just a few of the stages in Super Bowl Sunday, Pizza, and Shrine, each of which are based on personal vignettes from her Massachusetts hometown. The gallery will include sculptures from the videos that are particularly strong narrative devices and have a presence Swiszcz describes as “quietly devout.” “Inventory” is the first installment of an ongoing project that will develop over the next few years.

A graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Swiszcz has had numerous group and one-person exhibitions at venues including the Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Drawing Center, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Miyako Yoshinaga in New York, Steven Zevitas Gallery in Boston, and The Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Related programming includes:

Exhibition Opening
January 15, 2015, 7-9pm
MAEP Galleries; FREE

Artist Talks
February 19, 2015, 7-8:30pm
MAEP Galleries; FREE

PRESS CONTACTS
Tammy Pleshek, (612) 870-3171; tpleshek@artsmia.org
Anne-Marie Wagener, (612) 870-3280; awagener@artsmia.org
Emmalynn Bauer, (612) 870-6364; ebauer@artsmia.org

ABOUT THE MINNESOTA ARTISTS EXHIBITION PROGRAM
The Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP) is a curatorial program of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) dedicated to exhibiting and supporting artists living and working in the state of Minnesota. Generous support for MAEP is provided by The McKnight Foundation and Jerome Foundation.

ABOUT THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS
Home to over 87,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) inspires wonder, spurs creativity, and nourishes the imagination. With extraordinary exhibitions and one of the finest wide-ranging art collections in the country—Rembrandt to van Gogh, Monet to Matisse, Asian to African—the MIA links the past to the present, enables global conversations, and offers an exceptional setting for inspiration.

General admission to the MIA is always free. Some special exhibitions have a nominal admission fee.