Nate Young : The Unseen Evidence of Things Substantiated

The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) presents The Unseen Evidence of Things Substantiated, an exhibition of new work by Nate Young (Minneapolis, MN) who, through FWM’s Artist-in-Residence Program, continues his exploration of systems and objects that impacts one’s beliefs. This exhibition opens Saturday, September 12, 2015 in FWM’s second floor gallery. FWM will host a public reception on Friday, October 2 from 6 to 8pm to celebrate its Fall 2015 exhibitions, as well as the debut of a members-only performance of a musical composition by FWM Artist-in-Residence Cynthia Hopkins (Brooklyn, NY) at 5:30pm.

Young’s theological concepts, at times rendered through text, diagrams, and architectural elements—such as altars, church pews, and in this exhibition, a pulpit—create unexpected encounters through his use of unique materials. The surface of the eight-foot, fabricated metal pulpit that Young made in collaboration with FWM is designed to create, as Young described, “an effect where the object actually recedes into space, becoming conscious of its own presence.” This effect is achieved through the use of a super-black paint developed for the aerospace industry and used by NASA that is distinctive for its high-light absorption and low outgassing properties, thus producing a perceptual illusion within the installation environment and a shifting awareness of the artwork.

In an immersive video installation, the second work in The Unseen Evidence of Things Substantiated, Young strips away as much visual material as possible to reveal the system of language. This new work, produced during the artist’s residency at FWM, incorporates a preacher’s oration with a magician’s sleight of hand by using a 16th century holographic illusion known as Pepper’s Ghost. As the artist stated, “Language is the foundation for cognition. Cognitive is an awareness of self.”

The Friday, October 2 reception will also celebrate the following exhibition:
Cynthia Hopkins: Memorabilia
Saturday, September 12–Sunday, November 15, 2015

About the artist
Nate Young (Minneapolis, MN) received his BA from Northwestern College, Saint Paul, MN in 2004. Young went on to receive his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts and to complete a residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2009. Working across media in a manner that challenges traditional modes of artistic production, Young creates works that engage with issues of race and racialization. Some of Young’s recent group exhibitions include Go Tell it on the Mountain at the California African American Museum, Los Angeles (2013); Fore at the Studio Museum of Harlem, New York (2012); and Projected Identity at the Anderson Gallery Drake University, Des Moines, IA (2012). Young is also a co-founder of The Bindery Projects, an alternative exhibition space in Saint Paul, MN that seeks to foster critical engagements outside of traditional arts institutions. Young’s work is included in the permanent collection of the Walker Art Center, and he is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago. 

About The Fabric Workshop and Museum
Founded in 1977, The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) encourages international artists at all stages of their careers to experiment with new materials and new media in a veritable living laboratory, working with studio staff, educators, and apprentices. Through its renowned Artist-in-Residence Program, FWM’s collaborative process continues to build a permanent collection of some 6,000 works of art and an archive of diverse materials that preserve and document the course of artistic production from inspiration to realization. An ambitious program of exhibitions and publications, a dynamic website, and wide-ranging educational programming enhance FWM’s commitment to conveying a story of contemporary art that unites process with finished works of art of interest to a broad national and international audience.

For more information, or to request images, please contact Michele Bregande, Assistant to the Directors – Public Relations, at michele@fabricworkshopandmuseum.org.