Sheree Hovsepian Reveries of a Solitary Walker

October 29, 2015 – January 2, 2016

This publication was created on the occasion of Sheree Hovsepian’s second solo exhibition at moniquemeloche.

© 2015

For Reveries of a Solitary Walker, Sheree Hovsepian’s second solo

exhibition at moniquemeloche, the artist debuts a series of black and

white photographic abstractions that question the apparent boundaries

of the imitative medium. Departing from traditional presentations of the

photograph, Hovsepian blends studio and dark room techniques in a

manner that confounds our usual expectations of mechanical image-

making.

In this new body of work, Hovsepian layers and collages elements onto

the photographic surface, challenging the discourse around the

medium’s inherent indexicality. Her process is performative, sculptural

and at times even painterly – formed by a quiet physicality. Paring back

the structures of photography to its barest components – light and time

– the artist negotiates a space for the often absent hand of the

photographer to emerge. Influenced by Assemblage Theory, first

presented by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guatarri in their seminal book A

Thousand Plateaus (University of Minnesota Press: 1987), Hovsepian

eschews the formal qualities of photography, focusing instead on the

conceptual tenets of the medium. This theory is an approach to systems

that views them as interconnected, fluid, and multi-functioning;

operating as component parts that can be interchanged. As such,

Hovsepian’s new multi-media works are an amalgam of that which is

found in the studio—graphite, nails, string, carved pieces of found wood,

and photograms made in the darkroom—arranged into constellations

that hover above a photographic-ground. Operating as an object and

also an archive of the studio, Hovsepian’s new work mimics the

photograph’s physical and temporal duality.

The Soulcraft of Many Small Gestures Allison Grant, Assistant Curator, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College, Chicago This exhibition is named after the title of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s unfinished last book, Reveries of a Solitary Walker. Written from 1776-1778 and published posthumously, it extols the pleasures and sorrows of thinking and working in seclusion. In chapter two, Rousseau lays out a framework for his writing as a “faithful record of my solitary walks and of the reveries which fill them when I leave my head entirely free and let my ideas follow their bent without resistance or constraint. These hours of solitude and meditation are the only ones in the day during which I am fully myself and for myself, without diversion, without obstacle, and during which I can truly claim to be what nature willed.” (1) Though created over 200 years later, the mysterious, monochromatic artworks of artist Sheree Hovsepian share a kindred sensibility. Using various mark-making techniques, Hovsepian shapes materials into unplanned compositions that are each unique and guided by the undulating patterns and graphic forms that emerge while working in the studio. For Hovsepian, the studio is a space of contemplation and the repetitive gestures of the work move in tandem with her wandering thoughts, much as Rousseau’s mind wanders along with his footsteps. Adrift in process, Hovsepian feels that the most magical artworks leave her, “in awe of something that is out of my control.”(2) In creation and display, the complex objects are intended to circumvent rational thought and open up forms of consciousness that lie beyond lucid reasoning. Reciprocity of gesture, material, and abstract thinking occurs with particular harmony in Reveries of a Solitary Walker (2015), an artwork that shares its title with this exhibition. The background is a digitally-composited photograph of pinpricked black paper held up to a window.

The print reduces photographic space to a flat pattern and uses the medium’s most basic properties of light and dark to create a rippling static. On top of the image, graphite strips and strands of string run across the page. These pared-down lines are among the most elemental types of human mark making. Hand-cut photograms, strips of paper, ink, and oil stick are also included. Additionally, a piece of wood that the artist found in her studio and hand carved bisects the frame. Drained of color, the forms converse to mesmerizing optical effect, and at times appear celestial or reference the human figure. At other moments, they simply embody the serenity of pattern without reference point. The finished artwork undulates, never fully fixed as a surface, nor cast back into an illusionistic space. Rather, there is a constant interplay of physical and psychic negotiation. Though Hovsepian foregrounds the experiential aspects of the artwork, her methods also intersect with her personal biography. Many of the works contain strings woven around brass nails. Wrapping the long strands evokes the artist’s childhood memories of knitting and crocheting with her mother. Like quilting and darning, these types of women’s work have historically straddled necessity and leisure. Attentive to this duality, Hovsepian reinterprets traditional feminine craft—and as she communes with hand gestures that have been passed through generations, she is mindful of the hours of disciplined labor as well as the ritualistic devotion that have long accompanied the process of weaving one long thread into a complex object. The artist’s formal training in photography also influences the creation of the artworks. The medium may seem antithetical to her practice because it so often represents an instant, rather than the hours of absorbed contemplation that pass during the journey she navigates to arrive at the completed works. But by imaging methodically punctured paper and including photograms that almost drip with the movement of liquid chemistry, Hovsepian finds ways to exploit the unique and often overlooked capacity for photographic materials to poignantly express the

movement of time and the accompanying fluctuations in perception that occur as one passes through world. To this end, Hovsepian considers her practice as one that builds upon what photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson’s called The Decisive Moment. The term was coined in 1952 to describe the fraction of a second when a photographer is able to organize and freeze the moving world into a powerful composition. Hovsepian considers her work to be an accumulation of many decisive moments that collapse hours of reverie into a single, dynamic piece. Reflecting on the multifaceted complexity of human experience, Hovsepian unapologetically engages in the soulcraft of working with her hands, as she reminds us that it is in solitary moments that we often encounter the most profound dimensions of ourselves. Footnotes: 1. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Reveries of a Solitary Walks (New York: Oxford Press, 2011), 11. 2. Sheree Hovsepian in discussions with the author, October 2015.

Contributor Biographies: Allison Grant is a Chicago based curator, writer, and artist. Currently, she serves as assistant curator at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago, where she has worked since 2008. Grant holds an MFA in photography from Columbia College Chicago and a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design in Media Studies. She teaches in the Photography and Art & Design departments at Columbia College Chicago.

Sheree Hovsepian (American b. Isfahan Iran 1974, lives NY) received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002, dual BFA/BA from the University of Toledo in 1999, and studied at The Glasgow School of Art, Scotland in 1998. Recent exhibitions include Soft Landing, a solo show at The Centre for Contemporary Photography, Toronto (2014), and The Last Brucennial, a group show curated by Vito Schnabel and the Bruce High Quality Foundation, New York (2014). Hovsepian has exhibited nationally and internationally, including solo exhibitions at Kristin Hjellegjerde, London (2015), Bischoff-Weiss Gallery, London (2013), Etemad Gallery, Dubai (2012), West Street Gallery, NY (2010), and the Spertus Museum, Chicago (2009). Her work has been featured in W Magazine, NY Arts Magazine, Artspace, Artinfo, FLAUNT, Time Out Chicago, Flavorpill, The Photography Post, and The Miami Rail, amongst others. Hovsepian’s work is in the permanent collections of the Studio Museum in Harlem, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Spertus Museum Chicago, the Park Hyatt New York, Soho House Chicago, and the Zabludowicz Collection London. Her work will be featured alongside Nate Young in our 2 person booth at UNTITLED Miami 2015.

Reveries of a Solitary Walker, installation view

moniquemeloche, 2015

Peaking, 2015

Ink and walnut oil on paper 83 x 52 inches 85 ½ x 58 ½ x 1 ¼ inches framed

Reveries of a Solitary Walker, installation view

moniquemeloche, 2015

Reveries of a Solitary Walker, 2015 Archival dye transfer print, graphite, acrylic, silver gelatin prints, wood, ink drawing on paper, brass nails and string 51 x 41 x 2 ¼ inches

Reveries of a Solitary Walker, installation view

moniquemeloche, 2015

Autobiographical Time Travel, 2015 Archival dye transfer print, framed silver gelatin print, wood, string, brass nails, graphite and acrylic 60 x 51 x 3 inches

A Room of One’s Own, 2015 Archival dye transfer print, silver gelatin photograms, string, brass nails and acrylic 41 x 31 x 4 inches

Untitled, 2015 Archival dye transfer print and ink Unique multiple, ed. 1/3 20 x 17 inches

Reveries of a Solitary Walker, installation view

moniquemeloche, 2015

Triangle Pose, 2015 Archival dye transfer print, graphite, acrylic, silver gelatin prints, ink drawing on paper, wood, brass nails and string 41 x 20 ¾ x 3 inches

Untitled #74, from the Haptic Wonders series, 2012 Unique silver gelatin photogram 24 x 20 inches

Untitled #76, from the Haptic Wonders series, 2012 Unique silver gelatin photogram 24 x 20

Reveries of a Solitary Walker, installation view moniquemeloche, 2015

Every Contact Leaves a Trace, 2013 Unique silver gelatin photogram 41 ½ x 24 ½ inches 44 ½ x 27 ½ x 2 inches framed

SHEREE HOVSEPIAN American, born Iran 1974, lives New York

Education 2002 MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, IL 1999 BFA/BA, University of Toledo. Toledo, OH 1998 Fall Term, The Glasgow School of Art. Glasgow, Scotland Selected Solo and Two Person Exhibitions 2015 Reveries of a Solitary Walker, moniquemeloche, Chicago The Whole Other, with Konrad Wyrebek, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London 2014 Soft Landing, Gallery 44, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Toronto 2013 Domes, Bischoff/Weiss, London 2012 Column, Etemad Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Haptic Wonders, moniquemeloche, Chicago 2011 Contact, Eric Charest-Weinberg Gallery, Miami 2010 Sheree Hovsepian, curated by Joel Mesler, Spare Room at West Street Gallery, New York 2009 Portraits of Young Jewish Women, Spertus Museum, Chicago 2007 The Death of Pluto, NEIU University, Chicago Selected Group Exhibitions 2014 Brucennial 2014, New York, NY 2013 Present Tense Future Perfect, curated by Teka Selman, Carol Jazzar Contemporary Art, Miami Bass! How low can you go?, curated by Amir Shariat, Leila Heller Gallery, New York All F@$%ing Summer, curated by Mia Romanik, Sarah Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach, FL Traces of Life, curated by Ariel Roger-Paris, Wentrup Gallery, Berlin Farewell Rodney, curated by Rashid Johnson, Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv 2012 Twenty Days Later, Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, New York Photorealism, curated by Benjamin Godsill, Bischoff/Weiss, London

Selected Group Exhibitions continued 2012 Group Show, curated by Joel Mesler, West Street Gallery, New York Brucennial 2012: Harderer. Betterer. Fasterer. Strongerer, curated by the Bruce High Quality Foundation, New York 2011 Eraser, curated by Rachel Funari,

Magnan Metz Gallery, New York 2010 Karl Haendel & Walead Beshty, Sheree Hovsepian, and Barbara Kasten, moniquemeloche, Chicago The Arbitrariness of Signs, curated by Sara Reisman, Momenta Art, Brooklyn 2009 Herd Thinner, curated by David Hunt,

Charest-Weinberg Gallery, Miami Harlem Postcards, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York It Figures, moniquemeloche, Chicago Emerge 10, curated by Sara Reisman,

Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, Newark 2007 How Do I Look? moniquemeloche, Chicago 2006 The World is Flat, Lifebomb, Berlin, Pan Sonic, curated by Heather Weber, NIU Gallery, Chicago Selected Bibliography 2015 Foumberg, Jason. “Sheree Hovsepian: Reveries of a Solitary Walker at Monique Meloche”, photograph mag, November/December. Hegert, Natalie. “Local Connections and International Inroads: EXPO CHICAGO 2015”, MutualArt, Sept. 16. 2014 Browne, Alix. “Artist in Residence.” W Magazine, December Goldstein, Andrew M. “8 of the Best Artworks at Expo Chicago 2014”, artspace.com, Sept. 20. Raoli, Martha. “PRESENT TENSE FUTURE PERFECT”, The Miami Rail, Spring. Thomas, Mary.“Silver Eye Auctioning Photos in Biennial Fundraising Event”, Pittsburgh Post- Gazette, April. 23. 2013 MY DAS UNHEIMLICHE, A Curation and Inquiry by Artist Luis Gispert, FLAUNT, Dec. 9.

Selected Bibliography continued 2013 Amirsadeghi, Hossein and Maryam Eisler, editors. “Art Studio America: Contemporary Artist Spaces”, Thames & Hudson, Ltd. London Syrmakezi, Marina. “Domes Review”, Gold-Circle.co.uk, June.

“Sheree Hovsepian. Domes”, Wall Street International, May. 2012 McLoughlin, Paul. "A Sleight Movement," BROWNBOOK.com, November 14 “Photorealism at Bischoff/Weiss Gallery,” Art Media Agency (AMA), July 10

Cunningham, Bill. "Evening Hours: Art and Light," New York Times Sunday Styles, March 11

2011 Braithewraite, Hunter, “Sheree Hovsepian: Contact”, NY Arts Magazine, Fall

"The Love List: Power Couples of the art world" artinfo.com Feb 15 2010 Norton, Heidi. “Sheree Hovsepian's Cosmic Minimalism.” The Photography Post. May 15 Smigasiewicz, Beatrice. “Karl Haendel & Walead Beshty, Sheree Hovsepian, and Barbara Kasten.” Flavorpill. March 20 2009 Weinberg, Lauren. “Sheree Hovsepian Spertus Museum.” Time Out Chicago. Issue 236 2005 Mojica, Jason. Pan/Sonic. Time Out Chicago, Feb 11. Weber, Heather. Pan/Sonic. NIU Gallery, Chicago, IL (catalogue) Grants, Awards, and Residencies 2015 Artist in Residence, The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, CA 2014 Artists on Artworks, artist talk, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Artist in Residence, Gallery 44, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Toronto 2008 Aljira Emerge 10 Residency, Newark, NJ 2005 Community Arts Assistance Grant, Chicago, IL 2002 Travel Grant. The School of the Art Institute, Chicago, IL 2000 Graduate Grant, The School of the Art Institute, Chicago, IL

Public Collections Zabludowicz Collection, London The Spertus Museum, Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago The Studio Museum in Harlem Soho House, Chicago Park Hyatt, New York

moniquemeloche was founded in October 2000 with an inaugural exhibition titled Homewrecker at Meloche’s home, and officially opened to the public in May 2001. Working with an international group of emerging artists in all media, the gallery presents conceptually challenging installations in Chicago and at art fairs internationally with an emphasis on curatorial and institutional outreach.

moniquemeloche

2154 W. Division, Chicago, IL 60622

p 773.252.0299 www.moniquemeloche.com