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ImageAurora, NY—The Wells College Visual Arts Department is announced the premiere exhibition of the 2009-2010 academic year, “Sun in an Empty Room + Music of Chance,” a site-specific instillation by Vancouver-based artists Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky. The exhibition will be on display in Wells’ String Room Gallery (SRG) from September 2 through October 14. An opening reception, open to the public, will held from 6:00-8:00 on September 2.

“Sun in an Empty Room” is made largely of paper mâché that imitates a stone- and bottle-strewn landscape. According to SRG director and assistant professor of art history William Ganis, the artist’s use of newspaper and dollar-store items is “ordered and gorgeous,” unlike our usual association with such every-day items. In “Music of Chance,” the artists use aluminum foil to create continuous strand of hand-embossed objects—like an enormous charm bracelet. Because the gallery is a light-filled, lake view room, Ganis says he “looks forward to seeing how the artists will use the ever-changing natural light.”

Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky have worked collaboratively since 2004.  Born in Winnipeg and Calgary, respectively, both artists have MFA degrees from the University of British Columbia, where they met in 1996. The duo’s installations, sculptures and photographs have been exhibited internationally. This year’s exhibits have included “Auto. Sueno y Materia” at LABoral (Gijon, Spain) and “Dos de Mayo” (Madrid), “Blue Like an Orange” (Ottawa Art Gallery), “How Soon is Now” (Vancouver Art Gallery) and a solo exhibit at Fonderie Darling (Montréal).  Other exhibits include: National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), Tokyo Wonder Site (Tokyo), Organism (Portland), loop-raum (Berlin), Pari Nadimi Gallery (Toronto), Mount Saint Vincent University (Halifax) and the Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver). 

Weppler’s work has also been exhibited at the Palazzo delle Papesse (Siena), and COCA (Seattle).  Mahovsky’s work has been shown at the Queens Museum of Art (New York), and he has written for journals including Artforum and Canadian Art.  Their work is represented in public collections including the Musee d’art Contemporain de Montreal and the National Gallery of Canada. They are semi-finalists for this year’s prestigious Sobey Award, the premier award for young artists in Canada.

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