Leslie Brack
Miguel Calderon
Larry Krone
Cary Leibowitz/Candyass
Alyson Levy
Daniela Rossell
Small Hat Fancy
Suzy Spence

LESLIE BRACK

"You dream it, they live it" -E!

Guest curated by Leslie Brack, I Saw Stars is a group exhibition of artists who share a fascination with the pervasive influence of celebrity culture. Much of the featured work reveals an interest in the ways this media spectacle shapes our personal worlds. In general, the work is humorous, absurd, and playful; it also shares the premise that there is no celebrity not worth talking about because, ultimately, we are talking about ourselves.

The artists included are:

Leslie Brack incorporates imagery and text culled from popular magazines to create collage-like paintings. Some contain portraits of celebrities inspiring to teenage girls, such as Drew Barrymore or Courtney Love. Others resemble ransom notes with titles such as "The Kate Moss Story." Ambivalent in outlook, this work explores our collective fascination with fame, youth, and beauty.

Miguel Calderon's video entitled "Hermanos Lelos" is a collaboration between himself and the famous 70's Mexican comedian Enrique Cuenca. The video loop is a series of bad jokes and skits where the artist and the comic dress exactly alike. The format is borrowed from a real Mexican television show "Los Polivocez," and even includes a laugh track.

Larry Krone is inspired by the sincerity of country music and the people who make it. He is known for his performances and art objects that make reverent use of classic country style, images, and lyrics. His secret goal is to host the Country Music Awards.

Cary Leibowitz/Candyass will be displaying his "Liza Minelli for President" rain slickers, available in every color of the rainbow flag. Here, as in much of his work, the artist creates humorous commentary about homosexuality, self-esteem, and media pervasiveness.

Alyson Levy exhibits photographs that emulate a television situation comedy starring herself and Janeane Garofolo. Garofolo, playing herself, and Levy, playing her younger sister, are seen in different NYC locations experiencing zany, happy adventures. These carefully scripted scenes remind the viewer of classic screwball comedies featuring two female buddies like "I Love Lucy," or "Laverne and Shirley."

Daniela Rossell exhibits recent photographic portraits of rich and famous Mexico City women surrounded by their opulent possessions. This work brings up issues of wealth and taste, and poses the question of the artist's relationship to her sitters. This work also features a glimpse into another cultural idea of celebrity; featured stars include American heiresses and family members of former Mexican presidents.

Small Hat Fancy is a locally produced, humorous 'zine containing fictional tales of pathetic and/or semi-tragic interactions between media has-beens and the non-famous. In this case, the non-famous happen to be the creators of the 'zine, their friends, and pets. The motif of the fashionable "small hat" is an absurdist unifying device.

ALYSON LEVY

Suzy Spence's most recent paintings on panel contain abstracted, figurative images of socialites and rap stars, sometimes in the same painting. This work combines disparate examples of the cultural elite to produce observations about class and race in contemporary society.

SUZY SPENCE