jay Kurian is a Baltimore-born, New York-based, conceptual artist working in sculpture, painting, and installation. His invitation to Goucher as the Nancy G. Unobskey ’60 Visiting Artist in Modern and Contemporary Art occasioned his solo exhibition of new work envisioned for and presented in the college’s Silber Gallery.
Kurian’s exhibition, installed to resemble a clandestine beer hall meeting, depicts cycloptic figures that possess power and status, populating a table in an ambiguous, social grouping. Atop easy postures and snappy outfits, their heads are each made up of a watchful, rotating eye and an illuminated smile. Above, a disembodied set of mechanized eyes monitors the scene, part security camera, part dystopian nightmare. Within this space all are observed, and all are observing. There is a symbiotic relationship between the platform and participants in which those who have gotten through the gates become gatekeepers—this club polices itself.
Please join us Friday, September 18th at 5:30pm for a virtual opening tour of Polyphemus with the artist, streamed live on instagram https://www.
Kurian is the seventh artist invited to present a public lecture as the annual Nancy G. Unobskey Visiting Artist in Modern and Contemporary Art. This annual series brings internationally renowned artists to Goucher’s campus to work with students in studio visits, in-class workshops, and a public lecture. Kurian is known for his interdisciplinary practice and work that challenges our acceptance of norms, systems of belief, and aspirational mythologies. His work has been exhibited around the world, notably in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, 47 Canal, White Flag, Sies + Hoke, JOAN and Rowhouse Project, and Von Ammon Co. Goucher is thrilled to host the artist’s virtual, public artist talk in early October.
**The exhibition will be open Tuesdays from 11am to 4pm to members of the Goucher community with a working OneCard and to the general public by appointment Wednesday – Friday 11am to 4pm, with limited weekend appointments also available through December 4, 2020.
email [email protected] to schedule your visit.**
Learn More
