Clark Russell's RIDDLEVILLE Premieres In The Flynn Gallery

On October 7, the Flynn will unveil Clark Russell's Riddleville as the latest exhibition in the Amy E. Tarrant Gallery. Decades in the works, Clark Russell has constructed an alternate universe featuring thousands of still-life scenes. Riddleville showcases over 10,000 whimsically juxtaposed modern artifacts, ranging from flashbulbs to sea shells, treasured family heirlooms to pint-size figurines, disassembled machine parts to HO trains, dumpster discards to thrift shop wonders.

A premiere reception will be held in the gallery on opening night at 5:30 pm. Riddleville is open to all ticket holders for all shows at the Flynn. From October 8 through November 19, the exhibit is open to the public on Fridays from 4-8 pm and Saturdays from 12-6 pm. Clark will be in the gallery during these open hours to talk with guests about his work, and to give personal tours of Riddleville. Find out more at flynnvt.org.

"Clark Russell's work on Riddleville is an incredible achievement and we are honored to premiere this hyperlocal, long-in-the-works artwork in the Flynn gallery," said Jay Wahl, executive director of the Flynn. "Riddleville is fun and inviting, offering everyone the opportunity to zoom in on the small, resonant details but also to appreciate the enormity of the world that has been built piece by piece. You will delight in seeing objects from your childhood reconfigured and rearranged. Riddleville is also thematically compelling, touching on our culture's curious and sometimes disturbing cycles of collecting and discarding cultural consumables. This is a sanctuary city of tiny epic proportions, a world you can't help but get lost in."

"Once upon a time, a paint-spattered toy tank found its way into the mouth of a plastic alligator, and Riddleville was born," said Burlington-based artist Clark Russell, the creator of Riddleville. "Now a prehistoric shark's tooth, shard of ancient pottery, two rings of wampum, and a chunk of the Berlin Wall surround a trilobite fossil attached to a heavy-duty spring that sits next to a geodesic ball spouting artificial flowers, one of over 2,000 such 'scenarios' that populate the dozens of freestanding towers, wall-hanging pilasters, and panels that make up Riddleville. A cross section, core sample, see-through mirror of consumer culture, the decidedly festive nature of Riddleville may not conceal its embedded warning signs: is all that we have worth all we have done?"

Burlington-based artist Clark Russell has been creating paintings, collages, and wall sculptures since graduating from the University of Vermont in 1983. Solo exhibitions of Russell's artworks have taken place in his hometown of St. Louis, New York City, Burlington's Fleming Museum, the Flynn, Firehouse Gallery, Trinity College, and St. Michael's College. Mr. Russell is the former director of performance art troupe Safari 500, and he plays music in Blowtorch (conscious punk) and RECon (sound collage). This is Clark Russell's first public display of Riddleville. His longtime studio is directly next door to the Flynn.

Find out more about the Riddleville exhibit at flynnvt.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.