EXHIBITION
1000 UTOPIAS : Nick Potter
OCTOBER 9 – NOVEMBER 4, 2016
Commons Gallery
Sunday, October 9
3:00-5:00 pm, Reception
Thursday, October 13
3:00-4:30 pm, Public lecture, Art Building, Room 101
Nick Potter presents 1000 Utopias, a new series of works based on his visits to architectural sites in Europe. Some of his new works combine contrasting forms of architecture—Modernist and Islamic
Artist Statement:
Attempts to create utopian societies often remain most visible in their architectural designs. Whether Roman, Renaissance, Modernist, Soviet, or Fascist, attempts to construct ideal cities are only realized for brief moments.
It can be argued that the greatest examples of a cultures architecture reflect its ideologies and values. The architecture becomes a form of propaganda.
Idealized, pseudo-utopias are often highly seductive. On the surface we see an appealing, perfected world. But as one contemplates the ideal further, we realize these paradises are false. As one looks more closely, the sinister realities of unchecked late-capitalism, imperialism, fundamentalism and fascism begin to emerge.
Ultimately, I use architecture as a prism to examine symbols of power.
—Nick Potter, July, 2016
Potter is a professor at California State University, Fresno.
image: Orientalism, 2016, oil on panel, 48″ x 72″. Courtesy of the artist.
Gallery Hours / M-F 10 am – 4 pm; Sun. 12 – 4 pm;
Closed Sat.
Admission to exhibition is free. Parking fees may apply.