Announcement

From October 18 to December 15, 2013, Boston Cyberarts and Emerson College are jointly presenting the inaugural American exhibitions of the work of sculptor Bálint Bolygó at the Boston Cyberarts Gallery in Jamaica Plain and at Emerson’s Huret & Spector Gallery in Boston. The exhibitions focus on Bolygó’s distinctive drawing-machine sculptures. Both exhibitions are free and open to the public.

Based in the UK, Bolygó creates mechanisms animated by natural, invisible universal forces (gravity, optical laws, and crystalline movements on a nano scale) that investigate the process of creation independently. His sculptural inventions often explore the passing of time, and they record traces of particular events and movements on a surface—paper, metal, plaster, glass—through the build-up of complex patterns, highlighting the connection between space, matter, and time. The relationship between the predictable nature of a system (a machine, program, and algorithm) and the unpredictability of the human touch conjures up both notions of random chaos and universal order.

Curated by George Fifield, director of Boston Cyberarts, and Joseph D. Ketner II, Foster Chair in Contemporary Art, Distinguished Curator-in-Residence, at Emerson College, the exhibitions will highlight some of Bolygó’s works that explore similarities between artistic and scientific minds: both motivated by the need to discover and turn ideas into totalities. The Boston Cyberarts Gallery will present three machines that draw a mural, a portrait, and an animated film, while Emerson’s Huret & Spector Gallery will showcase three works that draw continuously with light.

“We are very excited to be collaborating with Boston Cyberarts in bringing the work of Bálint Bolygó to the U.S. for the first time. Boston is a hub for innovation, technology, as well as a thriving arts culture—areas that Bolygó draws inspiration from for his marvelous drawing-machine sculptures,” said Professor Ketner. “I hope visitors will enjoy this opportunity to see his work on display firsthand.”

Opening Reception: Thursday, October 17, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Boston Cyberarts Gallery. The exhibitions will run from October 18 to December 15, 2013.

Gallery Hours: Boston Cyberarts Gallery: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; alternative visiting hours can be arranged by appointment. Call 617-522-6710 for more information. Huret & Spector Gallery, Monday through Friday, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. Call 617-824-8667 for more information.

Cost: FREE and Open to the Public

Locations: Boston Cyberarts Gallery, 141 Green Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. Located in the Green Street T Station on the Orange Line. Emerson College, Huret & Spector Gallery in the Tufte Performance and Production Center, 10 Boylston Place, Sixth Floor, Boston, MA 02116.

The Huret & Spector Gallery is a vital educational and cultural component of Emerson College, serving the needs of both the Emerson academic community and the Boston community at large.

Boston Cyberarts is grateful for the support of many generous individuals and institutions, including the Massachusetts Cultural Council, ArtsBoston, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, IBM, and the Boston Cultural Council.


About the Boston Cyberarts Gallery

Boston Cyberarts has been on the leading edge of art and technology in the United States for several decades. The Boston Cyberarts Gallery supports and encourages experimentation in the arts through exhibitions, events, educational programs and collaboration with like-minded groups in an effort to foster the development of new practices in contemporary art-making. Located in the Green Street station on the MBTA’s Orange line in Jamaica Plain, the Boston Cyberarts Gallery will be the only art space located in a train station in the country, and also the only independent art organization in Massachusetts focusing on new and experimental media. With an interest in technology based, innovative combinations of sculpture, installation, and live performance, the Boston Cyberarts brings together members of the new media community as well as outreaching to the general public, supporting emerging and established artists alike. Boston Cyberarts, launched by George Fifield in 1999 with seed funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, is an umbrella for several ventures; besides the Gallery, it organizes the “Art on the Marquee” program for the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center’s 80–foot LED sculpture on Summer Street (www.artonthemarquee.com) and the art on the LED screens on the Harbor Island Pavilion located in Boston’s Greenway Conservancy and run by the National Park Service and the Harbor Island Alliance. Further information on Boston Cyberarts is available by visiting bostoncyberarts.org or emailing info [at] bostoncyberarts.org (info[at]bostoncyberarts[dot]org).

About Emerson College

Located in Boston, Massachusetts, opposite the historic Boston Common and in the heart of the city’s Theatre District, Emerson College is one of the premier educational institutions with a concentration in visual and media arts. The College educates individuals who will solve problems and change the world through engaged leadership in communication and the arts, a mission informed by liberal learning. Emerson has 3,660 undergraduates and 829 graduate students from across the United States and 50 countries. Supported by state-of-the-art facilities and a renowned faculty, students participate in more than 80 student organizations and performance groups, student publications, honor societies, television stations including the Emerson Channel, and WERS-FM, the nation’s highest rated student-run radio station. Emerson is internationally known for its study and internship programs in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., the Netherlands, London, China, and the Czech Republic. A new permanent facility on Sunset Boulevard is being constructed for its L.A.-based program, estimated to be completed by January 2014. Emerson has an active network of 32,000 alumni who hold leadership positions in communication and the arts. For more information, visit www.emerson.edu.