Kite strings trace a 2,500 year trajectory through human history. Originating in ancient China, the kite spread worldwide to be used for recreation, war, communication, and atmospheric inquiry. They have risen quietly out of farmers’ fields and scientific laboratories, held by the hands of revolutionaries, artists, children, and enthusiasts. As an object of utility, reflection, and metaphor, the kite lifts our hearts and minds aloft.
LIFT focuses on the kite as an artistic vehicle. The exhibition includes the work of 28 artists from the U.S., Canada, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Japan, Germany, Korea, Malaysia and China. Each artist brings a unique vision to the kite form. From the delicate paper and bamboo work of Anna Rubin (Austria) to the bold paintings of Robert Trepanier (Canada), we find unexpected diversity in these objects.
In the U.S., our notion of ‘kite’ is often limited. Mass-produced plastic toys couple with poorly conceived childhood plans to produce memories of tangled string and kites stuck in neighborhood trees. The work of included in LIFT expands our thinking and encourages us to reconsider the humble kite. It is a medium that leads our gaze upward, demands a consideration of natural forces, and, ultimately, places artwork in a context beyond the gallery walls, into the atmosphere itself.
September 21 – December 31, 2017
