September 8 – October 7, 2012
The artistic practice of Graem Whyte lies at the intersection of family, community, collaboration, craftsmanship, metaphysics and the imaginative repurposing materials. In this exhibition he focuses on four projects paralleling themes drawn from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The resulting sculptures and installations encourage relational involvement. They are not merely to contemplated, the viewer is invited to participate and engage, to complete the work.
The mythological themes in “Remain Calm” explore war, death, famine and conquest. However, Whyte reinterprets them by presenting their inverse viewpoints. Each theme is transposed it into something positive. Hence “war” becomes “play,” “death” “sleep,” “famine” “purification,” and “conquest” “enlightenment.” Addressing universal issues of morality and mortality, he engages the world, its challenges and its contradictions.
This exhibition bridges Detroit and the suburbs. It is a distillation of Whytes locale: “Popps Packing” (a former meat packing business) which serves as home, studio, gallery and de facto community center. Located at the northern rim of Hamtramck, an enclave within the City of Detroit, here Whyte produces works in a variety of scale from small domestic sized sculptures, to mid-sized assemblages, to larger collaborative projects.
Curated by Dick Goody. Full-color catalogue available.
In conjunction with this exhibition Graem Whyte is participating in “Dlectricity” with the installation: “The Ice Cave.” “Dlectricity,” the mid-town Detroit Art & Light Festival, takes place October 5 & 6 and is part of Art Now Detroit Gallery Week.
Panel discussion: The Academy, the Student & the Artist, 2PM, Sunday, October 7, 2012. Panelists: Kevin Beasley, artist, NYC, Heather Darcy Bhandari, Director, Mixed Greens, NYC & author of ART/WORK, Gunalan Naderajan, Dean, School of Art and Design, University of Michigan, Vagner M. Whitehead, Associate Professor of Art, Oakland University. Graem Whyte, artist, Detroit. Moderator: Dick Goody, Director, OU Art Gallery.
