Smoca's Summer Exhibitions Showcase Different Forms Of Immersive Art

The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) will present three exhibitions this summer aimed at captivating and engaging visitors of all ages. From a playful exhibition about animals with over 130 artists, to a focused survey of one artist's dynamic installations, to an immersive experience that incorporates light, sound and technology, there will be something for everyone.

"From the analog to the digital, we hope to capture the imagination of every visitor through a wide array of artistic styles and approaches," SMoCA Acting Director Jennifer McCabe said. "SMoCA is proud of its commitment to local, regional and International Artists and that is exactly what we have on view this summer."

Here are the upcoming exhibitions:

Wild Thing: Adventures with the Permanent Collection

May 19-September 30

Featuring more than 130 artworks from SMoCA's permanent collection, Wild Thing celebrates all things animal - a menagerie in print, paint and sculpture. This thematic, playful exhibition explores the relationship between artist and animal and its enduring relevance in contemporary art, inviting visitors to discover works by notable Arizona artists such as Mayme Kratz, Randy Slack and Anne Coe, alongside pieces by William Wegman, Lynda Benglis and Alexander Calder. Being in the Southwest, images of horses, snakes and coyotes are routine. But bats and beavers? Yes. Birds and butterflies? Definitely. Fish, cats, dogs, frogs and a hippopotamus? Absolutely, and you will find them here. Children and adults alike will enjoy this family-friendly exhibition that invites visitors to take a walk on the wild side.

Refik Anadol: Infinity Room

May 26-September 30

In this immersive installation by Turkish-born, Los Angeles-based artist Refik Anadol, museum guests will step into a mirrored room that uses light, sound and technology to create a three-dimensional kinetic and architectonic space. The installation uses projection mapping to conceive a constantly changing virtual landscape - an imagined environment that attempts to merge the space between the physical and the virtual. The work is as experiential as it is thought provoking; the resulting experiment invites viewers to question their own perception of place and self.

Infinity Room is part of Anadol's ongoing research that he calls "Temporary Immersive Environment Experiments," which refer to the state of consciousness known as immersion. Typically occurring in virtual or artificial environments, the viewer's awareness of his or her own physical self is temporarily transformed. Originally presented in collaboration with the 2015 Istanbul Biennial, the installation has since traveled around the world before stopping in Arizona.

Lydia Okumura: Situations

June 9-October 14

This is the first solo museum exhibition of the Brazilian-born artist that showcases her dynamic installations, indoor and outdoor sculptures, and works on paper. The exhibition, spanning two galleries, is a survey of Okumura's career, with work dating from 1971 through today. Known widely in Brazil for her spatially engaging work, Okumura remains under-recognized in her adopted country of the United States. She actively challenges viewers to question their perception of space through works that blur the line between two and three dimensions. Using simple materials such as string, glass and paint, her artworks balance line, plane and shadow.

On display at SMoCA will be the installation In Front of Light for which Okumura won a prize in the 1977 São Paulo Biennial, along with additional installations from the 1970s and 1980s. These include the colored-string installation, Prismatic Appearance, from 1975, and several wire mesh sculptures recreated from Okumura's 1984 solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in São Paulo, including the installation Labyrinth.

Lydia Okumura: Situations was organized by the University at Buffalo Art Galleries, Buffalo, New York. The exhibition is curated by Rachel Adams, UB Art Galleries senior curator, and is supported by BROADWAY 1602, UPTOWN & HARLEM, and Buffalo Wire Works.

SCOTTSDALE ARTS
Through its partnership with the City of Scottsdale, the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts (formerly known as Scottsdale Cultural Council) creates diverse, inspired arts experiences and educational opportunities that foster active, lifelong community engagement with the arts. Since its founding in 1987, Scottsdale Arts has grown into a regionally and nationally significant, multi-disciplinary arts organization offering an exceptional variety of programs through three acclaimed divisions - Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) and Scottsdale Public Art - serving more than 400,000 participants annually.

ABOUT SMoCA
Founded in 1999, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) explores the best of contemporary art, architecture and design. Global in its focus, the Museum is a unique and vital cultural resource for the Southwest, serving local audiences as well as visitors from the United States and abroad. Designed by award-winning architect Will Bruder, SMoCA's minimalist building (an ingenious renovation of a former movie theater) has four galleries for showcasing changing exhibitions and works from the Museum's collection, along with SMoCA Lounge, a living, functional art installation and space for community engagement. The Museum presents a wide variety of educational programs and special events for adults and families, including lectures, readings, performances, docent-led tours, workshops and classes. SMoCA also features an outdoor sculpture garden housing James Turrell's Knight Rise, one of the renowned artist's public skyspaces, and Scrim Wall, a monumental curtain of translucent glass panels by James Carpenter Design Associates. The Museum's retail store, Shop@SMoCA, offers classic design objects and furnishings, contemporary jewelry, art and architecture books, and imaginative gifts for all occasions.

VISITOR INFORMATION
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
7374 E. Second St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
www.SMoCA.org
480-874-4666
SMoCA@ScottsdaleArts.org

HOURS AND ADMISSION
Tuesday-Wednesday, noon-5 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday, noon-9 p.m.
Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and major holidays
Admission: $10 adults, $7 students, free for members and children under 15
Free on Thursdays and after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays

To post a comment, you must register and login.