Kevin Schmidt

Kevin Schmidt

Fogo Island Arts / Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver

Kevin Schmidt, EDM House, 2013. Courtesy the artist and Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Vancouver.

March 16, 2014

Kevin Schmidt
March 28–June 1, 2014

Contemporary Art Gallery
555 Nelson Street, Vancouver
BC, V6B 6R5
Canada

Kevin Schmidt: EDM House 
June 15–August 31, 2014

Fogo Island Cinema 
210 Main Road, Joe Batt’s Arm
NL, A0G 2X0
Canada

www.contemporaryartgallery.ca
www.fogoislandarts.ca

Kevin Schmidt’s EDM House (2013), a new work commissioned by Fogo Island Arts, will be presented at the Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, as a part of a solo exhibition by the artist. Based in Vancouver and Berlin, Schmidt’s show comprises a survey of recent works, including a second major new piece, High Altitude Balloon Harmless Amateur Radio Equipment (2013). Complementing his CAG exhibition, Fogo Island Cinema, Fogo Island, Newfoundland will present screenings of EDM House over the course of six weeks this summer. 

Schmidt is best known for addressing notions of displaced spectacle where remarkable events containing elements of urban culture are staged against the backdrop of the natural world. EDM House is a light and sound work picturing a small cabin in the interior of British Columbia, its outside festooned with garlands of colourful lights akin to a suburban celebratory display. The building also glows from within; the illuminations synchronized to an incongruous electronic rhythm in a secluded mountainous setting. Drawing parallels between the original homesteader’s desire to escape to new pastures, and contemporary “hobbyist” production or the DIY culture of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) as a counter to the mainstream, Schmidt seeks to interrogate such ideas via a surreal combination of the spectacular.

Comprising a homemade camera and a large-format slide projection, High Altitude Balloon Harmless Amateur Radio Equipment used a weather balloon to capture an image of the Earth by launching the equipment 35,000 meters into space. The resulting photograph of the stratosphere is presented as an immersive projection in the darkness of the gallery. Undeniably beautiful, the image is foiled by the means of its presentation and its production. Like many of Schmidt’s works, High Altitude Balloon Harmless Amateur Radio Equipment makes clear the narrative of its construction and process, unexpected parallels drawn by bringing together different “realities.” 

Publication: Kevin Schmidt—EDM House (2014)
To accompany these presentations, EDM House, a coproduction of Fogo Island Arts (Fogo Island, NL) and Sternberg Press (Berlin), will be published in summer 2014. The book features texts by Michael Turner, Jeff Derksen and an interview with Kevin Schmidt by Jack Stanley.

EDM House was commissioned by Fogo Island Arts with the support of the Canada Council and the British Columbia Arts Council.

The exhibition in Vancouver is made in collaboration with Braunschweiger Kunstverein, Germany.

Further information:
fogoislandarts.ca / contemporaryartgallery.ca / sternberg-press.com

Press contacts
Contemporary Art Gallery
555 Nelson Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 6R5
Canada
T +001 604 681 2700 / j.henderson [​at​] contemporaryartgallery.ca

Fogo Island Arts
Highway 334 – Suite 100
Fogo Island, NL
A0G 2X0
Canada
T +001 709 266 1083 / rosemaryheather [​at​] fogoislandarts.ca


 

Kevin Schmidt at the Contemporary Art Gallery and Fogo Island Cinema
Advertisement
RSVP
RSVP for Kevin Schmidt
Fogo Island Arts  / Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver
March 16, 2014

Thank you for your RSVP.

Fogo Island Arts  / Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver will be in touch.

Subscribe

e-flux announcements are emailed press releases for art exhibitions from all over the world.

Agenda delivers news from galleries, art spaces, and publications, while Criticism publishes reviews of exhibitions and books.

Architecture announcements cover current architecture and design projects, symposia, exhibitions, and publications from all over the world.

Film announcements are newsletters about screenings, film festivals, and exhibitions of moving image.

Education announces academic employment opportunities, calls for applications, symposia, publications, exhibitions, and educational programs.

Sign up to receive information about events organized by e-flux at e-flux Screening Room, Bar Laika, or elsewhere.

I have read e-flux’s privacy policy and agree that e-flux may send me announcements to the email address entered above and that my data will be processed for this purpose in accordance with e-flux’s privacy policy*

Thank you for your interest in e-flux. Check your inbox to confirm your subscription.