Main Space

Artists:

In New York: Ellen Birrell, Charles Labelle, Marie Lorenz, Daniel Malone, Dane Mitchell, Mark Orange, Yuk King Tan, Ri Williamson, Karla Wozniak

In Auckland: Dan Arps, Kylie Duncan, Simon Esling, Jennie C. Jones, Jennifer Nocon, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Blake Rayne, Sriwhana Spong, Lisa Tan

Curated by Brian Butler and Christian Rattemeyer

Local Transit-a two-part exhibition created in a partnership between Artspace (Auckland) and Artists Space (New York)-originates in the similar histories and functions these two non-profit arts organizations play in their respective communities, and capitalizes on their different locations to investigate the role of familiarity and difference in the reading of contemporary art. Each exhibition will operate as an international exchange of artists with a distinct local response, drawing parallels through exchange, making connections through reversals, and pondering ideas of familiarity through unfamiliarizing audiences. Local Transit engages with contradictions arising from positions of extreme centrality and periphery. Significantly, many of the artists presented engage with identity as manipulated by location rather than assuming cultural tropes. Forms of distancing and abandonment appear in several of their works, playing with mechanisms of localization and transit.