FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kristi Engle Gallery
5002 York Ave.
Highland Park, CA 90042
323.472.6237
kristi@kristienglegallery.com

April 26, 2008, 7:30pm sharp
Gallery opens at 6:00pm
Gallery hours: Thursday - Saturday 12 - 6pm & by appointment

Kristi Engle Gallery is pleased to present work by local artist, Jim Ovelmen. Working within the realms of animation and live music, Ovelmen has re-worked a performance which was held in New York last summer. Extending and expanding it for this new presentation the artist has titled the new work "Queens of Sorrow," taken from the lyrics of folk singer/songwriter, Townes Van Zandt.

Ovelmen examines the paradoxes inherent in America's so-called "gilded age" of the late 19th century and the legacy of industrialization and wealth polarization it engendered. Consciously alluding to the the works of experimental filmmaker Luis Bunuel and experimental animator, Lotte Reiniger, Ovelmen has developed pen & ink drawings into 3-D computer animation creating the opulent yet cold surroundings of a Vanderbilt-style mansion. A tension is created by the incongruent combination of the elegant setting and the strange, coarse behaviours of the characters within it, including one based on Townes Van Zandt, whose personal history with the troublesome disconnect between the benefits of wealth and the realities of the world, reflect the similar conditions of 19th century America.

The presentation includes a live musical performance by the artist. The music will be played alongside the animation becoming a vital part of the overall performance.

"Queens of Sorrow" will performed for one night only, April 26, 2008. This will be its premiere presentation in Ovelmen's homebase of Los Angeles. Gallery doors will open at 6pm, the performance will begin at 7:30pm sharp.

Kristi Engle Gallery devotes itself primarily to solo exhibitions of new works by contemporary artists. It is located in Highland Park, near the corner of Ave. 50 and York Blvd.

Back