October 2 – November 2, 2007

GABRIEL WIESE: CORKART


Gabriel Wiese Cork Suit, 2007

GABRIEL WIESE: CORKART German artist Gabriel Wiese had been studying to be a cabinetmaker when he discovered the possibilities of cork in furniture and object construction. Experimenting with design and various building techniques—from covering existing furniture, to creating new forms with a steel infrastructure and applying a cork veneer, to works made completely from cork—he has succeeded in “changing the simple stopper into an object of art.” In addition to cork chairs, Wiese has created cork carpets, pictures, tables, chessboards, and clothes.

Wiese was born in Magdeburg, Germany, but has lived in Saalfeld since 1979. Following his cabinetmaker’s apprenticeship he began experimenting with wood and cork in 1994. He has exhibited his work widely in museums, galleries, and public places across Germany, and is represented in the United States by the Gallery of Functional Art in Los Angeles. This exhibition, his first in the San Francisco Bay Area, has been curated in conjunction with GFA, and will be drawn from the collections of selected private lenders.

November 13 – December 14, 2007

SITTICHAI PRATCHAYARATIKUN/THONGCHAI SRISUKPRASERT :
NEW YORK FROM THAILAND


Natalie and James Thompson School of Art and Design San Jose State University, 2007

SITTICHAI PRATCHAYARATIKUN THONGCHAI SRISUKPRASERT: NEW WORK FROM THAILAND This past summer three San José State University artists joined other California college/university faculty and traveled to Thailand to participate in an art exchange with artists from Silpakorn University in Bangkok. In return, several of the Thai artists are visiting America during late October and early November, and two will visit San José and be in residence in the School of Art and Design for two weeks. The Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery will be featuring two installation works by these two artists, Sittichai Pratchayaratikun and Thongchai Srisukprasert, on display from November 13 through December 14.

Pratchayaratikun’s work, entitled Memory Room, explores the Thai cultural tradition of retaining a portion of a loved one’s ashes, following death and cremation, in a small but accessible space. The most appropriate place to keep these ashes is in a quiet, if not deserted space, where a monument to the loved one can rest near to, yet separate from, the bustle of the living world.

Srisukprasert’s installation, Green House Effect, is a symbol for the need to heal the earth from the increasing natural disasters brought on by global warming and unprecedented climate changes. Red thread is used in Thai funeral rites; the weaving of a red cross that creates a small yet dynamic interior environment comments on the compelling need to proactively work to heal the earth’s global environment.

This is the first time that artists from San José State University have participated in this collaboration with Thailand, which has been ongoing for seven years. It has been so successful that another group of artists (faculty as well as students) from SJSU will travel to Thailand in 2009 to continue this binational exchange.

For additional information concerning the gallery program and visiting artist lecture series, contact:

Jo Farb Hernandez, Director
Natalie and James Thompson Galleries
San Jose State University
School of Art and Design,
ART 129A
San Jose, CA 95192-0089
telephone: (408) 924 - 4328
fax: (408) 924 - 4326