Partition

June 23rd, 2009 at 12:08pm christian.swafford

Partition

Today is the opening for a show of mine in Brooklyn.  All are welcome.   If you cant make it to the opening please check out the installation which will be up from now until the end of August.
The Partition dinnerware pieces where previously on display in the MAD on the 6th Floor.

0.00156 acres is pleased to announce Partition, an installation by New York
based artist Christian Lopez Swafford. This work is a commentary on the
physical, mental, and symbolic borders that exist between the US and Mexico.
Placing this installation in a gallery, Swafford ignites a conversation in a context
where people can vocalize their views, opinions and experiences about the
US/Mexico border. The installation comprises a table, two benches, dishware
and flatware, and wallpaper. All these elements call attention to the problems of
borders, communication, exchange, interaction, participation, when the natural
flow is obstructed.

Coming from a product and industrial design background Swafford concludes that ‘Partition is not about designed
objects, but instead is about using objects to design a conversation. Partition does not cast judgment but instead
initiates analyses, contemplation and discussion.’

Christian Lopez Swafford (b. 1981) attended Parsons The New School of Design in New York, earning his BA in 2008.
There he explored the role of art and design in social advocacy. Raised in Washington DC, he traveled to Oxaca, Mexico
absorbing the rich artistic legacy of his mother’s Latin American roots. His father, an American software engineer,
pioneered the business applications of systems information storage during the early years of personal computers.
Swafford’s work seeks to reconcile the lyricism of European and Amerindian traditional cultures with the pragmatism of the
Information Age. Recently he has collaborated in various projects with established artists and designers. Currently he is
teaching at Parsons and he is also the President and Creative Director of Material Lust, Inc. (www.material-lust.com)

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0.00156 acres is an art space committed to showcase emerging, mid-career and established artists whose works create awareness on
social issues such as: immigration, urbanism, demographics, environment, education, health and politics, among others. 0.00156 acres’
program comprises bi-monthly group and solo shows.

0.00156 acres is located at 114 Smith Street, in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, an eclectic happening neighborhood, comprised of family-run
shops, Italian meat markets, antiques stores, middle eastern eateries, old time barber shops mixing with trendy new restaurants and
top-notch stores, inhabited by a population sensitive to the arts, creativity and contemporary affairs. This small plot commands a
presence on Smith Street, Brooklyn with a full height window revealing a complete interior view for spontaneous audiences and art
lovers alike.

Veronica Mijelshon is an independent curator, founder and director of 0.00156 acres. Former Gallery Director of NURTUREart
Gallery & Emerging Curators’ Resource Center (2004 – 2007). Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she completed her architecture degree
at the University of Buenos Aires. Her curatorial projects include Between To and From (a collaboration with Eleanor Eichenbaum) in
the Visual Art Center of New Jersey (2008); it’s a small world, at gallery the, Brooklyn, NY, 2006; please OPEN the door, exploring the
private and public subject at the NURTUREart Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, 2004/06; a commission by artist Sharon Louden for Technics,
Miami, FL, 2004; Flight, a site-specific installation by artist Lucia Warck Meister, DUMBO, Brooklyn, 2003. She is the Founder of 0.00156
and also the art and architecture consultant for a private company in New York City.

Entry Filed under: in the studio