EDITOR'S NOTE: There will be photo/video opportunities on March 12 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) as Breuning works with 10 students to create photo art project on campus.
EUGENE, Ore. -- (Feb. 27, 2009)-Olaf Breuning is known for his flashes of humor when he creates his unique artwork and reflects on, and pokes fun, at pop culture. Breuning will be the UO Department of Art's 2009 Fowler lecturer and will present a free public lecture at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, in Lawrence Hall, Room 177, 1190 Franklin Blvd.
Breuning will show his 30-minute video "Home 2," which chronicles an American tourist who visits assorted villages, cities and tribes in Papau New Guinea, Japan and Ghana. His narrator, actor Brian Kerstetter, explores the notions of identity and belonging in the video. "Home 2" was shown in Zurich and New York at the Whitney Biennial. At the lecture, Bruening will also show his recent sculptures created from manufactured, inexpensive, every-day objects.
Breuning's videos, photographs, sculptures and installations have been displayed in many of the world's prominent art museums including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney in New York, and the Galleria Civica di Arte Contemporanea and Museo Tamayo, in Italy and Mexico City, respectively.
"Olaf will give students a look at a highly productive, multi-media artist," said Charlene Liu, professor of art. "His diverse works should inspire experimentation and exploration."
Born and educated in Switzerland, Breuning now resides and works in New York City. He recently completed solo exhibitions at Metro Pictures Gallery in New York (2008), Migros Museum in Zurich, Switzerland (2007), and featured a massive "sand sculpture" for Art Projects at Art Basel Miami Beach 2008. He is currently preparing for a solo show at Kodama Gallery in Japan among other opportunities.
The lecture is funded by the George and Matilda Fowler Fund and the UO department of art.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Karen Johnson, A&AA Communications, (541) 346-3603, karenjj@uoregon.edu
Source: Charlene Liu, assistant professor, Art, (541) 346-1716, charlene@uoregon.edu
Link: Metro Pictures Gallery http://www.metropicturesgallery.com/
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