To Let
James Johnson and Erin Murray
Presented as part of Just In Time: 30 Years of Collective Practice
Friday, April 26 – Sunday, June 23, 2019
Closing Reception: Artist Talk + Catalogue Release: Sunday, June 23, 2019 | 3-6pm
Vox alumna James Johnson and Erin Murray turn their attentions to the idiosyncrasies, memories and embedded histories of Vox Populi’s venue for their collaborative project To Let. Including mixed-media objects and works-on-paper, of their collaboration the artists write:
Between shows and within our memories, the galleries wait: expectant, broom swept, ready for their next tenant. Each month, the rent is paid, and bits of space subleased, allowing new things and ideas into the world, over and over.
The tenants fight the floors, ceilings, walls and windows, vanquishing them to the background, wanting only the things and ideas, but their fight is often in vain. The building has crept into everyone’s mind, entwined itself with ideas, and refuses to stay neutral. It is a space experienced at the edges of our perception, but it has some advantages in its bid for attention.
In an environment of constant change, the space itself remains static. It has a fair amount of charming idiosyncrasy, details to linger on – which hardly go unnoticed to its uniquely attentive audience, one which is primed for looking, for interpreting symbols and for projecting meaning. And not least, we find within this audience many former tenants who have personally fought floors, ceilings, walls and windows.
The effect is that of a peripherally experienced space, yet one which deeply inhabits the psyche of both individual and community. The inverse is true too: memories of interaction, the enlightenment of ideas advanced within, and personal narratives layer themselves onto floors, ceiling, walls, and windows. For once, we shall allow them to the fore.
About the Artists
James Johnson received an M.F.A. from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a B.F.A. from Marywood University. Recognitions include: an Independence Foundation Fellowship and two Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Fellowships. He was an Acquisition Finalist for the West Prize and completed a residency at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. Exhibitions include: Fleisher/Ollman Gallery (Philadelphia), Vox Populi (Philadelphia), Humble Arts Foundation (New York, NY), Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr), The Print Center (Philadelphia), ThreeWalls (Chicago, Il), Guest Spot (Baltimore, MD). He participated in No Soul For Sale with Vox Populi at Tate Modern in London. His work was included in HUMBLE CATS: New Cats in Art Photography, published by Yoffy Press. James lives and works in Philadelphia where he holds the appointment of Associate Professor of Photography & Digital Arts at Moore College of Art and Design.
More Info: jamesjohnsonstudio.com
Erin Murray received her BFA with distinction from the Maryland Institute College of Art and has since exhibited widely in cities including Philadelphia, PA, New York, NY, Portland, OR, Wilmington, DE and Rutherford, NJ. She was a 2018 recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, and has also received the West Collects acquisition prize, the Fleisher Wind Challenge Exhibition Grant and a Center for Emerging Visual Artists fellowship. In 2018 she completed a residency at Soaring Gardens artist retreat. Her work has been published twice in New American Paintings and has been curated into the Tiger Strikes Asteroid Flat File program (NYC) and the White Columns Artist Registry (NYC). She recently spent five years as member and Facilities committee chair of the artist-run collective Vox Populi. She lives and works in Philadelphia with her partner and two children.
More Info: erinmurray.org