Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 24, 2021

CLEVELAND—The Cleveland Institute of Art will host Entropical Paradise, an exhibition of ambitious video installations by students taking CIA's Advanced Video and Digital Cinema Projects course, from March 26 through April 23 in Reinberger Gallery.

Entropical Paradise promises an immersive sensory experience that tests the bounds of the physical, the virtual and the real. Featuring eight dynamic video installations that incorporate large-scale projection, multiple monitors, sculpture and sound, the exhibition presents unique ways of seeing and experiencing the world through a stunning display of artificial environments.

Covering an array of subject matter—spirituality, consumerism, the environment and virtual architecture—these artists are unified in their urgency to be seen and remain present within the noise of uncertainty and disorder.

The exhibition's featured artists are:
Elena Beitzel
Caroline Campion
Murong Chen
Liam Darby
Sydney Nicole Kay
Zane Millecchia
Chenghao Pan
Kaliban Zehe

"I am really excited to share this exhibition with the community because I think it shows how innovative and resourceful our students and faculty truly are," says Nikki Woods, Reinberger Gallery director. "It's a rare opportunity to be able focus all of the gallery's resources on putting on an intensive student exhibition with eight artists. This is a totally different experience than a large group show, and it's really about creating a focused, museum-quality exhibition so that students can envision themselves in that world. The gallery is a testing ground for new ideas and it should feel like it belongs to everyone."

"I'm impressed by the students' ability to see the project as a whole and to work on multiple facets simultaneously," says Jacob Koestler, the CIA faculty member who teaches the course. "It's a fun but scary process to work on a semester-long project as a group with external partners that is on view for the public. We all sort of take a leap of faith together at the start of the semester. What's most exciting is the variety of work; it's a blast to see all the different ways students interpret video installation, and simultaneously consider how their project co-exists with their peers in a group-exhibition context."

To realize each of their installation projects and gain hands-on experience building their exhibition from the ground up, students worked closely with Woods, Koestler and Lead Art Preparator Paul Sydorenko. Students also worked with local press Empress Editions to produce a limited-edition risograph exhibition catalogue that includes artist bios, images and descriptions of the work in the show.

Entropical Paradise will be on view to the public at Reinberger Gallery, 11610 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Admission is free but appointments are required. Appointments are available from 10am to 5pm Wednesdays and Fridays, and details about scheduling can be found at cia.edu/exhibitions.

An accompanying website will premiere Friday, April 9 at entropicalparadise.myportfolio.com.

A virtual artist lecture and exhibition walk-through for Entropical Paradise will take place at 11:30am Friday, April 16 via Zoom Webinar as part of CIA's Lunch on Fridays lecture series. Details of that event can be found here.

Entropical Paradise was organized in collaboration with Reinberger Gallery and Koestler.

CONTACT
Members of the media with questions or who are interested in reviewing Entropical Paradise should contact Michael C. Butz, director of college communications and external affairs, at mcbutz@cia.edu or 216.421.7404.