Tony Oursler

Tony Oursler
Metro Pictures: Thought Forms, 25 February – 25 March
Nyehaus: Sound Digression in Seven Colors, 25 February – 25 March

Metro Pictures presents new work by Tony Oursler from February 25 – March 25, 2006. Thematically the exhibition was conceived as a triptych of large-scale installations. Each includes an object, which is projected upon as well as an atmospheric wall projection, which creates a virtual background or suggestion of location. Three amorphic materials: Mercury, Water, and Dust come together in the exhibition to create an ever-changing dynamic installation. The artist felt that these materials and their symbolic ramifications reflect the present moment in America; a moment of constant flux and lack of solidity. Sometimes humorous, sometimes dark, these work play with the issues of the politics of pollution, mental illness, pop culture, entertainment, as well as alienation.

A concurrent Tony Oursler exhibition focusing on music will be on view at Nyehaus located in the National Arts Club building at 15 Gramercy Park South. The Nyehaus show comprises sculptures of a dozen musicians, with video monitors embedded in each one. Scattered throughout the gallery space, the sculptures will create a cacophonous "surround-sound" atmosphere. Oursler has a longstanding interest in projects combining music and visual art. He has collaborated extensively with musicians including Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, David Bowie, and David Byrne.

Providing a third venue to see Oursler's work in New York this March, the 2006 Whitney Biennial will feature Don't Trust Anyone Over Thirty, a collaborative puppet opera by Tony Oursler and Dan Graham with Rodney Graham, Laurent P. Berger, Japanther, and Trans.

Tony Oursler has been a pioneer of new media art since the mid-1970s. His numerous solo exhibitions include The Darkest Color Infinitely Amplified at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2000; Introjection (1999-2001), his mid-career survey, at the Williams College Museum of Art, Massachusetts, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Des Moines Art Center; Studio and Climaxed (2005) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Dispositifs (2005-2006) at the Jeu de Paume, Paris, the Domus Artium (DA2) Modern Art Museum, Salamanca, Spain, the Helsinki City Art Museum, Finland, and at the GL Strand in Copenhagen, Denmark, March 18 – May 7, 2006. His work is represented in many museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Tate Gallery in London. Oursler was born in 1957 in New York, where he now lives and works. He received a BFA from California Institute for the Arts in 1979.

Opening receptions will be held on Saturday, February 25: Metro Pictures from 5-7pm, Nyehaus from 7- 8:30pm.

Metro Pictures Gallery Hours: 10am – 6pm, Tues – Sat Nyehaus Gallery Hours: 11am – 6pm, Tues – Sat

Upcoming Exhibition: Gianni Motti, April 1 – 30, 2006

Press Information: Stacy Bolton Communications T: 212 721 5350 E: Mamie@StacyBolton.com