FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chris Gibbons and Karen Ruenitz
What Are You Made Of?

June 9th – July 1st, 2007
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, June 9th, 6pm-9pm

little tree gallery
3412 22nd St @ Guerrero
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.643.4929
www.littletreegallery.com
info@littletreegallery.com

little tree gallery is pleased to present the work of Chris Gibbons and Karen Ruenitz in their dual show entitled What Are You Made Of?. Presenting photography (Mr. Gibbons), and drawing on paper and silkscreen on fabric (Ms. Ruenitz), the artists give a haunting portrait of identity through layers of fabric and paper.

Karen Ruenitz’s expertly rendered graphite on Bristol drawings depicting haut couture, hip-hop gear, and urban casual-wear are distinctive. The flowing fabrics, detailed fur, and intricate jewelry are painstakingly executed, yet each ensemble is devoid of a wearer. Each ‘invisible” subject is suggested through their costume, additionally personified via posture and accessories. In addition, the viewer is free to make greater assumptions about race, class, and taste. A close inspection reveals that an expensive watch dangles in the empty air and an attitude-laden glove resting on the hip is unconnected. Taking these themes further, Ms. Ruenitz will hang nine pieces of silk fabric in the window, layered in a row. One complete drawing is fragmented onto different layers of the silk, deconstructing and reconstructing the subject, and literally taking the drawing back to the fabric.

Chris Gibbons captures the silhouette, the profile, and the final remnants of decaying bodies by photographing telephone poles covered in concert handbills. The natural elements transform the posters into peeling, leafy paper. The organic results photographed by Mr. Gibbons display nature mid-process, recouping its losses. Within the fluttering paper, each photograph posses a human form struggling in direct opposition to these natural forces. Music and the slick album covers are whispers of their former selves. What remains, and what is perceptible, is an intense stare or a passionate scream. In one piece, staples upon staples and fragments of white paper overpower two figures who have almost entirely faded away. They appear shocked and lonely, as if the music ended and the momentum of loss became overpowering.

Karen Ruenitz is a Fashion Illustration Lecturer at California College of the Arts. Her work has been shown extensively throughout the United States. This fall she will matriculate to Purchase College MFA program in New York.

Chris Gibbons studied Social Psychology and Video Production at the University of East London. A former director of low budget short contemporary dance film, this is his first photography exhibition. He currently lives in Oakland.

For inquiries and questions regarding the show, please contact us by phone at (415) 643-4929 or by email at info@littletreegallery.com.